§ 28-14-5 — County lien on property of recipient for care, support, or burial expenses provided--Immediate effect--Reimbursement under catastrophic county poor relief fund.

If any county pays for the care, support, or burial expenses of any poor person as defined in § 28-14-3 , the county has a lien upon all the property, both real and personal, including joint tenancy and homestead interests belonging to the poor person, or to be thereafter acquired by the poor person, or in which the poor person has any interest. The lien shall be for all sums of money expended by the county. A lien for expenses paid by a county and reimbursed under the catastrophic county poor relief fund established in chapter 28-13A , shall be for the full amount of the medical expenses paid by the county before reimbursement was made from the catastrophic fund. A lien shall become effective immediately upon payment by any county, to or for the benefit of such poor person, and filing with the register of deeds office for recording and indexing. Each additional payment made by the county for such poor person shall be added to the amount of the lien. If a county receives a reimbursement from the catastrophic county poor relief fund and the county subsequently collects all or part of the claims from either the individual or a third - party source, the county shall repay a percentage of the collection to the catastrophic county poor relief fund. The percentage of the collection repaid shall equal the percentage of the claim that the catastrophic county poor relief fund reimbursement represents.

Legislative History

SDC 1939, § 39.1702; SL 1953, ch 209, § 1; SL 1963, ch 237; SL 1993, ch 211.