## Facts

- Martha M. Tanner died intestate on January 14, 2004, while residing in a nursing facility.
- Over the last eleven years of her life, TennCare paid $248,508.77 in medical benefits on her behalf.
- Her assets included approximately $2,000 cash and a Davidson County residence assessed at $123,000 (estimated value about $167,000).
- Her son, Thomas Tanner, served as conservator and closed the conservatorship on June 20, 2004.
- After her death, he sought a “release” from TennCare’s estate recovery unit; TennCare responded by letter but did not issue a waiver or release.
- Nineteen months after the death, TennCare filed an action seeking appointment of an estate administrator; the matter was transferred to probate court and Thomas Tanner was appointed administrator.
- TennCare filed a probate claim to recover “medical assistance correctly paid” under Tenn. Code Ann. § 71-5-116 and 42 U.S.C. § 1396p.

## Issues

1. Whether TennCare’s estate-recovery claim was barred by the one-year limitation applicable to state claims against estates under Tenn. Code Ann. § 30-2-310.
2. Whether Tenn. Code Ann. § 71-5-116 creates a distinct procedure that prevents the one-year limitation from running until the estate’s representative obtains a TennCare waiver or release.

## Decision

- The Tennessee Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals and remanded.
- The Court held TennCare’s claim was not subject to the one-year limitation in Tenn. Code Ann. § 30-2-310 under the governing version of Tenn. Code Ann. § 71-5-116.
- Because § 71-5-116 imposes an affirmative duty on the estate representative to obtain a TennCare waiver or release before distributing assets, the representative could not bar TennCare’s claim by relying on the passage of one year without securing such a waiver or release.

## Legal Principles

- Statutory interpretation is a question of law reviewed de novo; courts seek to give effect to legislative intent and harmonize related statutes.
- Tenn. Code Ann. § 71-5-116 authorizes TennCare to recover Medicaid benefits correctly paid from a deceased recipient’s estate and conditions distribution of estate assets on obtaining a TennCare waiver or release.
- When § 71-5-116 applies and no waiver or release has issued, the general one-year limitation for state claims against estates in Tenn. Code Ann. § 30-2-310 does not bar TennCare’s estate-recovery claim.
- An estate representative’s inaction in seeking a waiver or release cannot be used to defeat TennCare’s statutory recovery right.

## Conclusion

The court allowed TennCare’s estate-recovery claim to proceed because the applicable estate-recovery statute placed the burden on the estate’s representative to obtain a waiver or release before distributing assets, preventing the one-year state-claims limitation from barring recovery absent such a waiver or release.


In re Estate of Tanner, 295 S.W.3d 610 (Tenn. 2009)