Matter of Estate of Fisk - No. 20090157
Case Summary
The Department of Human Services appeals from a district court order declaring the estate of Mary Ann Fisk insolvent, ordering the personal representative to pay certain claims against the estate, and discharging the personal representative from further claims.
Mary Ann Fisk's late husband had received $56,312.35 in Medicaid benefits by the time he died on February 14, 1997. After Mary Ann Fisk died on September 27, 2001, Royce S. Fisk, who is her stepson and the sole devisee of the estate, applied for informal probate of her will and for appointment as the personal representative of the estate. The district court granted Royce Fisk letters testamentary allowing him to administer the estate. After receiving a notice to creditors, the Department made a claim against the estate for $70,887.59, representing the amount of Medicaid benefits received by Mary Ann Fisk's late husband plus interest. The personal representative accepted the Department's claim for the most part and petitioned for an order declaring the estate insolvent and discharging him from further claims. The personal representative alleged the total estate assets were $58,320.02, and after deducting Mary Ann Fisk's funeral and medical expenses, the costs and expenses of administration of the estate, and taxes, only $28,409.09 remained to satisfy the Department's claim. The court granted the personal representative's petition and ordered the personal representative discharged upon payment of $28,409.09 to the Department.
On appeal, the Department argues the district court erred because Mary Ann Fisk's funeral expenses should have been limited to $3,000 rather than the $6,206.25 allowed. The Department argues the personal representative's fees were unreasonable and there is no record of legal services to justify amounts paid to an attorney by the estate. The Department also contends the court should have made a determination regarding the personal representative's payment of some of Mary Ann Fisk's debts to creditors with claims junior to the Department's claim.