## Facts

- Frances Cleveland, an elderly woman (about 92 in 1984), lived alone in Nashville and was supported by Social Security, modest investments, and a trust.
- In 1976, Cleveland executed a will that left specified personal property (including antique furniture) to certain relatives and left the residuary estate to Bethsalem Presbyterian Church.
- In January 1984, Cleveland became seriously ill. A neighbor contacted Cleveland’s niece, Jane C. Gorden, who traveled from Houston to Tennessee because no one else was available to help.
- Gorden cared for Cleveland for several weeks but soon determined Cleveland needed full-time professional care.
- In February 1984, Gorden placed Cleveland in a nursing home in Shelbyville, Tennessee.
- Gorden met with officers at Cleveland’s bank (Third National Bank) to determine how Cleveland’s expenses should be handled.
- Bank officers advised Gorden that she could obtain reimbursement from Cleveland’s accounts for expenditures made on Cleveland’s behalf if she opened a separate account and kept detailed records.
- Gorden followed that guidance, used her own funds to pay Cleveland’s expenses (including nursing-home and medical bills), and kept meticulous expense documentation.
- Cleveland knew Gorden was paying the bills with Gorden’s personal funds and told a friend that Gorden “would get everything she had, if there was anything left.”
- Cleveland died in 1989. Gorden filed a timely claim against the estate seeking reimbursement of nearly $100,000 (about $99,741) for out-of-pocket expenditures; she did not seek compensation for caregiving services.
- The probate court denied the claim, finding Cleveland had not agreed to reimburse Gorden and treating the payments as gratuitous.

## Issues

1. Whether a niece who paid her aunt’s necessary nursing-home and medical expenses with her own funds may obtain reimbursement from the aunt’s estate without an express promise to repay.
2. Whether the family-gift presumption applies to bar reimbursement when the payor kept detailed records, relied on reimbursement advice, and the recipient knew reimbursement was expected.
3. Whether restitution/implied-contract principles require repayment when the estate benefited from discharge of the decedent’s obligations and the payor was not a mere volunteer.

## Decision

- The Tennessee Court of Appeals reversed the probate court’s denial of Gorden’s claim.
- The court held Gorden was entitled to reimbursement from Cleveland’s estate for documented expenditures made on Cleveland’s behalf.
- The case was remanded for entry of judgment consistent with allowing reimbursement.

## Legal Principles

- A person who pays another’s necessary expenses may recover in restitution (quasi-contract) when the payer is not an officious intermeddler and the recipient knowingly accepts the benefit under circumstances showing repayment was expected.
- A family relationship does not automatically convert payment of another’s obligations into a gift; the usual presumption of gratuity is strongest in close, shared-household situations and can be overcome by proof that the recipient knew or should have known repayment was anticipated.
- Evidence supporting an expectation of reimbursement includes: maintaining separate accounts and detailed records, paying from personal funds rather than the recipient’s funds, seeking reimbursement guidance, and statements by the recipient indicating the payer would be compensated.
- An estate may be required to repay expenditures that reduced the decedent’s debts and preserved estate assets when fairness requires preventing unjust enrichment.

## Conclusion

The Court of Appeals held that Gorden’s documented payments of Cleveland’s nursing-home, medical, and related expenses were not mere gifts: Gorden acted when no one else would, relied on reimbursement advice, kept careful records, and Cleveland knew the bills were being paid with Gorden’s money and indicated Gorden would be compensated, so the estate had to reimburse Gorden under implied-assent and restitution principles.


Estate of Frances Cleveland v. Gorden, 837 S.W.2d 68 (1992)