## Facts

- May Manchester died on January 30, 2004.
- From May 1, 2002 through her death, the Rhode Island Department of Human Services (DHS) paid $94,162.70 in medical assistance on her behalf.
- On February 17, 2004, DHS wrote to Manchester’s daughter, Jean Curria, requesting notice as soon as the probate estate was opened.
- On June 10, 2004, the Warren Probate Court appointed Curria and Nancy Tobin as co-administratrixes; the appointment was published on June 15, 2004.
- The co-administratrixes did not notify DHS that the estate had been opened.
- DHS learned the estate was open on June 21, 2007, after contacting the probate court.
- On August 9, 2007, DHS petitioned under R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-11-5(b) to file a claim out of time to recover the medical assistance payments.
- The estate objected, but the probate court granted DHS’s petition and allowed the out-of-time claim.
- On appeal, the Superior Court granted summary judgment for DHS; the estate appealed.

## Issues

1. When does the limitations period begin to run on DHS’s statutory estate-recovery claim: at the decedent’s death, upon publication of the personal representatives’ appointment, or upon DHS’s receipt of notice/knowledge that the estate was opened?
2. Was DHS barred from seeking permission to file, and from filing, its estate-recovery claim out of time under the probate code and any applicable statute of limitations?

## Decision

- The Rhode Island Supreme Court affirmed the Superior Court’s summary judgment for DHS and left in place the probate court’s allowance of the out-of-time claim.
- The court held the limitations period was not triggered until DHS received notice or actual knowledge that the estate had been opened (June 21, 2007).
- Because DHS filed its petition on August 9, 2007, after learning the estate existed, DHS’s claim was not time-barred.
- The court rejected the estate’s arguments that the clock ran from the date of death or from publication of the co-administratrixes’ appointment.

## Legal Principles

- A statutory Medicaid/medical-assistance estate-recovery claim is governed by the applicable estate-recovery and probate-claims framework, not by importing unrelated general limitation periods.
- Where DHS seeks reimbursement from a decedent’s estate and has requested notice of estate opening, the limitations period does not begin until DHS has notice or actual knowledge that the probate estate has been opened.
- A petition to file a claim out of time under R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-11-5(b) may be allowed when the statutory time bar has not been triggered by notice/knowledge of estate opening.
- Summary judgment is proper when material facts are undisputed and only legal questions regarding timeliness and claim allowance remain.

## Conclusion

The court upheld DHS’s estate-recovery claim because the limitations period did not start until DHS learned the probate estate had been opened, making DHS’s petition and claim timely despite the estate’s reliance on death- and publication-based timing theories.


In re Estate of Manchester, 66 A.3d 426 (R.I. 2013)