In re Estate of Barg
Minnesota Supreme Court
752 N.W.2d 52 (2008)
- Written by Liz Nakamura, JD
Facts
Dolores and Francis Barg were married in 1948. In 2001, Dolores moved into a nursing home in Mille Lacs County (county) (plaintiff) and was approved for Medicaid. Shortly after, Dolores transferred her interest in all jointly held assets to Francis. Dolores died in January 2004 after receiving nearly $110,000 in Medicaid benefits. After Francis’s death, the county filed a claim for reimbursement from Francis’s estate (defendant) to recover the $110,000 paid to Dolores, arguing that, under Minnesota law, Medicaid reimbursement actions (1) can reach the estate of the Medicaid recipient’s surviving spouse and (2) can collect against any assets in the surviving spouse’s estate that were jointly held with the Medicaid recipient at any point. The estate challenged, arguing that (a) federal law preempted Minnesota law and (b) because federal law controlled, recovery from the surviving spouse’s estate was either entirely prohibited or, alternatively, limited to assets Francis held jointly with Dolores at the time of her death. Because Dolores had transferred her interest in all joint assets to Francis prior to her death, the estate argued that the county could not recover from Francis’s estate. The district court held that the county could not reach the formerly joint assets in Francis’s estate. The county appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Meyer, J.)
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