State Board of Social Welfare v. Pottawattamie County

139 N.W.2d 196, 258 Iowa 324, 1965 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 735
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedDecember 14, 1965
Docket51802
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 139 N.W.2d 196 (State Board of Social Welfare v. Pottawattamie County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State Board of Social Welfare v. Pottawattamie County, 139 N.W.2d 196, 258 Iowa 324, 1965 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 735 (iowa 1965).

Opinion

Garfield, C. J.

The administrator of the estate of Alta P. Clausen, deceased, filed application in probate for determination of priority of claims for old-age assistance furnished decedent and her husband by the State Board of Social Welfare under chapter 249, Code, 1962 (and earlier Codes), and a claim for care Burnished decedent in the state mental health -institute at Clarinda and the Pottawattamie County home by the county, under Code chapter 230. The state board has appealed from the order following trial to the court on stipulated facts. The board contends the claims are equal in weight and effect and the avail-: *326 able estate funds, insufficient to pay the claims in full, should be prorated between the two. claimants.

Alta P. Clausen died intestate June 11, 1963, a resident of Pottawattamie County. Her husband Chris, a resident of Harrison County, survived. Alta received old-age assistance of $884.84 from the state board (or department) from September 1, 1949, to October 1, 1951. A copy of the board’s order with notice of lien (exhibit B) was filed in the office of the Pottawattamie County recorder and there indexed September 15, 1949, as provided by Code section 249.20, infra. The notice recited in part:

“This is to certify that the application for assistance of the above named person as provided for by Chapter 249, Code of Iowa, 1946, as amended, has been approved. The assistance furnished under this order, together with subsequent orders of the State Department of Social Welfare, is made a lien by law on any real estate owned * * * by the person above named. * '* * This order shall be subject to review at any time by the Department and the amount awarded may be increased, decreased, or discontinued.
“You are hereby notified that the exact amount of money paid for assistance to the recipient named in the foregoing order may be determined by communicating with the State Department of Social Welfare at Des Moines, Iowa.”

Decedent received care at .the state mental health institute at Clarinda from September 28, 1951, to March 31, 1957, for which Pottawattamie County paid $5249.58. She was. not released from the institute as cured but on the latter date was transferred to the Pottawattamie County home where she received care until March 31, 1962, amounting to $3423.33. Decedent again received old-age assistance from the state board from April 1, 1962, to April 1, 1963, in the sum of $2336.82.

Alta’s husband Chris also received old-age assistance of $2265.01 from September 1, 1958, to June 11, 1963, when Alta died. (He continued to receive such assistance but any claim for payments after decedent’s death is not here involved.)

April 22, 1962, Alta’s brother, J. N. Hutchison, died leaving one fifth of his net estate to her. Beal property in his estate *327 consisted of a home in Missouri Valley, Harrison County, and a farm in Pottawattamie County. Pursuant to authority in his will Hutchison’s executrix sold the real estate and Alta’s administrator received from her $12,855.32 as Alta’s share in the estate. This is virtually the only asset in Alta’s estate. It is clear its receipt gave rise to this controversy between the state board and Pottawattamie County over priority of their respective claims.

On September 19, 1958, the state board filed and there was indexed in the office of the Harrison County recorder a notice of lien on any real estate owned by Chris (who had none) or Alta, his spouse, with a copy of the board’s order, for old-age assistance furnished Chris. This was done pursuant to Code section 249.20, infra, and the document was similar to the one filed in Pottawattamie County September 15, 1949, from which we have quoted. No copy of an order with notice of lien by the state board, for old-age assistance furnished decedent, was filed in Pottawattamie County other than the one filed September 15, 1949.

The names of Alta and Chris Clausen were properly indexed in the Pottawattamie County auditor’s office and the amounts paid for Alta’s care at Clarinda and claimed for her care in the county home were there recorded as provided by Code section 230.26, infra. This record was transcribed to the Harrison County auditor about June 11, 1963, when decedent died.

June 21, 1963, Pottawattamie County filed its claim in probate in decedent’s estate for $8672.91. Of this $5249.58 was paid for decedent’s care at the Clarinda institution and $3423.33 was claimed for her care at the county home to March 31, 1962.

July 29, 1963, the state board filed its. claim in the estate for $3221.66. Of this $884.84 was for old-age assistance furnished decedent from September 1, 1949, to October 1, 1951, and $2336.82 for such assistance from April 1, 1962, to April 1, 1963. At the same time the state board filed its claim for the $2265.01 old-age assistance furnished Chris.

It appears from the above factual statement, perhaps needlessly detailed, that old-age assistance to decedent was terminated October 1, 1951, when she was admitted to the tax-supported institution at Clarinda in accordance with Code section *328 249.6, subsection 5. The state board assigned this reason for such discontinuance. March 10, 1962, decedent through her guardian reapplied for old-age assistance and, as stated, received it from April 1, 1962, to April 1, 1963.

On the above facts the trial court ruled the state board had a lien on the share of the real estate decedent acquired from her brother upon his death for $884.84, amount of old-age assistance furnished her from September 1, 1949, to October 1, 1951; Pottawattamie County had a lien on the same property for $6286.12 for decedent’s care at Clarinda and at the county home until August 31, 1958; these two sums should be paid in full; claims of the county for care furnished decedent from September 1, 1958, to March 31, 1962, and of the state board for old-age assistance furnished Chris from September 1, 1958, to' March 31, 1962, are claims of the same class and should be prorated because of insufficient estate funds to pay the claims in full.

Nothing was allowed the state board on its claim for old-age assistance furnished decedent from April 1, 1962, to April 1, 1963, nor for such assistance furnished Chris from April 1, 1962, until decedent’s death June 11, 1963. As stated, the county furnished decedent no care after March 31, 1962. Apparent significance of the dates August 31 and September 1, 1958, in the court’s ruling is that old-age assistance to Chris commenced September 1.

As stated at the outset, the state board contends its claims and that of the county are equal in weight and effect and available estate funds should be prorated between them.

These statutory provisions apply to the county’s claim:

Section 230.25, Code, 1962, slates: “Any assistance furnished under this chapter shall be and constitute a lien on any real estate owned by the person committed to such institution # # # »

It seems to1 be conceded this statute includes the assistance the county furnished at Clarinda and also at the county home.

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Bluebook (online)
139 N.W.2d 196, 258 Iowa 324, 1965 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 735, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-board-of-social-welfare-v-pottawattamie-county-iowa-1965.