Minnesota Statutes (“M.S.”), Section 524.1-201(6) defines Minnesota Probate Claims in the following manner:
While certain Minnesota Probate Claims relate to pre-death:
liabilities of the decedent whether arising in contract or otherwise,
post-death liabilities of the estate must also be addressed by the Personal Representative of the estate.
M.S., Section 524.3-803(a) identifies that Minnesota Probate Claims are deemed presented on the first to occur of:
Therefore, Minnesota Probate Claims need not be filed with the court – providing that a written statement of the claim is presented to the Personal Representative of the estate.
M.S., Section 524.3-806(a) identifies that the Personal Representative of the estate may disallow any Minnesota Probate Claim which has been properly presented, by providing in part as follows:
Therefore, if the Personal Representative of the estate desires to disallow any particular Minnesota Probate Claim which has been properly filed with the court, or presented to the Personal Representative of the estate, the Personal Representative should mail a notice to the claimant stating that the claim has been disallowed.
M.S., Section 524.3-806(a) identifies the effect of any timely disallowance of a properly presented Minnesota Probate Claim, by providing in part as follows:
Therefore, if the claimant wants to pursue collection of a Minnesota Probate Claim which has been properly disallowed, it must commence a legal collection action against the Personal Representative of the estate not later than two months after the mailing of the notice of disallowance or partial allowance – if the notice had warned the claimant of the impending bar.
M.S., Section 524.3-806(a) identifies the consequences of failing to disallow in a timely manner any Minnesota Probate Claim which has been properly filed with the court, or presented to the Personal Representative of the estate, by providing in part as follows:
Therefore, a failure to disallow a Minnesota Probate Claim in a timely manner will result in the claim being allowed by the Personal Representative of the estate, unless prior to its payment, the Personal Representative of the estate obtains a court order permitting the disallowance of the claim.
M.S., Section 524.3-806(b) identifies that either the Personal Representative of the estate, or a claimant, may petition the court for an order allowing payment of a Minnesota Probate Claim which has been previously disallowed, by providing in part as follows:
Therefore, a petition for a court order allowing the payment of a Minnesota Probate Claim which has been previously disallowed by the Personal Representative of the estate must be filed within two months after the mailing of the notice of disallowance or partial allowance – if the notice had warned the claimant of the impending bar.
If there is any chance that the estate will be insolvent – with more debts than assets – then all of the estate’s creditors must be treated equally within each class of creditors.
There is a priority ranking scheme for the payment of Minnesota Probate Claims to estate creditors,
If the estate’s assets are insufficient to pay all of the Minnesota Probate Claims in full, it’s possible that:
M.S., Section 524.3-805(a) identifies that Minnesota Probate Claims shall be paid in the following order of priority if estate assets are insufficient to pay all of the claims:
If the applicable assets of the estate are insufficient to pay all claims in full,
the personal representative shall make payment in the following order:
(1) costs and expenses of administration;
(2) reasonable funeral expenses;
(3) debts and taxes with preference under federal law;
(4) reasonable and necessary medical, hospital, or nursing home expenses of the last illness of the decedent, including compensation of persons attending the decedent, a claim filed under section 256B.15 for recovery of expenditures for alternative care for nonmedical assistance recipients under section 256B.0913, and including a claim filed pursuant to section 256B.15; [MA Claims]
(5) reasonable and necessary medical, hospital, and nursing home expenses for the care of the decedent during the year immediately preceding death;
(6) debts with preference under other laws of this state, and state taxes;
(7) all other claims.
M.S., Section 524.3-805(a) prohibits preferential treatment in the payment of Minnesota Probate Claims among creditors of the same class, by providing in part as follows:
The reader may need to review the above provision more than once.
M.S., Section 524.3-803(a) identifies that creditors have a certain time period during which they must either file with the court, or present to the Personal Representative of the estate, any Minnesota Probate Claims, by providing in part that:
In addition to the four month primary claims presentation period, a one-year Minnesota Probate Claims period exists with respect to creditors who were:
Therefore, with respect to such creditors, the extended Minnesota Probate Claims presentation period will not expire until one year from the date of death, unless a supplementary notice is provided to such creditors.
M.S., Section 524.3-801(b), identifies two separate personal service notice requirements with respect to potential Minnesota Probate Claims:
The first personal service notice requirement identified in M.S., Section 524.3-801(b) addresses the possible receipt of State of Minnesota provided medical benefits, by providing as follows:
If the decedent or a predeceased spouse of the decedent received assistance for which a claim could be filed under section 246.53, 256B.15, 256D.16, or 261.04, notice to the commissioner of human services must be given under paragraph (d) instead of under this paragraph or paragraph (c).
One possible creditor in every estate is the decedent’s home county, which has a right to file for reimbursement of:
Even though the decedent may have never received any Minnesota medical assistance benefits from the county of residence, M.S., Section 524.3-801(d)(1) still requires every probate estate to provide a written notice to the Minnesota Commissioner of Human Services regarding the probate proceeding, by providing in part that:
Effective for decedents dying on or after July 1, 1997, if the decedent . . . received assistance for which a claim could be filed under section 246.53, 256B.15, 256D.16, or 261.04, the personal representative or the attorney for the personal representative shall serve the commissioner of human services with notice in the manner prescribed in paragraph (c) as soon as practicable after the appointment of the personal representative.
The Minnesota Commissioner of Human Services will thereafter notify the decedent county’s Department of Human Services with respect to the commencement of the probate proceeding, in order to remind the county to file a Minnesota Probate Claim against the estate for the recovery of any medical assistance or other state benefits paid by the county on behalf of the decedent.
In order to allow the county sufficient time to research its records before a Personal Representative can make any distribution of assets from the estate, M.S., Section 524.3-801(d)(2) prohibits the Personal Representative from making any distributions of estate assets until 70 days after the notice upon the Minnesota Commissioner of Human Services, by providing as follows:
Notwithstanding a will or other instrument or law to the contrary, except as allowed in this paragraph, no property subject to administration by the estate may be distributed by the estate or the personal representative until 70 days after the date the notice is served on the commissioner as provided in paragraph (c), unless the local agency consents as provided for in clause (6).
This restriction on distribution does not apply to the personal representative’s sale of real or personal property, but does apply to the net proceeds the estate receives from these sales.
Therefore, there is a blanket restriction imposed on the Personal Representative from making any distribution from the estate until 70 days after the required notice to the Minnesota Commissioner of Human Services has been provided – unless a waiver is obtained from the local County Department of Human Services.
The second personal service notice requirement identified in M.S., Section 524.3-801(b) with respect to Minnesota Probate Claims is directed to known and identified general creditors, by providing as follows:
The personal representative shall, within three months after the date of the first publication of the notice, serve a copy of the notice upon each then known and identified creditor in the manner provided in paragraph (c).
Once the Personal Representative of the decedent’s estate has been appointed by the Court, the Personal Representative may have to provide a supplementary notice to the estate’s known and identified creditors.
M.S., Section 524.3-801(b) defines the term known creditors, by providing in part as follows:
A creditor is “known” if:
(i) the personal representative knows that the creditor has asserted a claim that arose during the decedent’s life against either the decedent or the decedent’s estate;
(ii) the creditor has asserted a claim that arose during the decedent’s life and the fact is clearly disclosed in accessible financial records known and available to the personal representative; or
(iii) the claim of the creditor would be revealed by a reasonably diligent search for creditors of the decedent in accessible financial records known and available to the personal representative.
M.S., Section 524.3-801(b), defines the term identified creditors, by providing in part as follows:
Under this section, a creditor is “identified” if the personal representative’s knowledge of the name and address of the creditor will permit service of notice to be made under paragraph (c).
M.S., Section 524.3-801(c), imposes an obligation on the Personal Representative to provide a supplementary notice to certain of the known and identified creditors of the estate after the Personal Representative has been appointed by the court, by providing in part as follows:
M.S., Section 524.3-801(c) appears to identify that the required supplementary notice to creditors can be either:
to the creditor.
However, the Minnesota Court of Appeals has determined that service by ordinary first-class mail is only effective if the creditor actually receives the supplementary notice – thereby negating the use of ordinary first-class mail for such notice purposes, since:
See In Re: Estate of Kotowski, 704 NW2d 522, (MN. Ct. App. 2005).
Therefore, any service of the supplementary notice by mail may have to be accomplished by either certified or registered mail in order to provide the court with credible evidence that the notice requirement has been satisfied.
If the supplementary notice is not provided to any known and identified creditors of the estate, such creditors will have one year from the date of the decedent’s death in order to either file with the court, or present to the Personal Representative of the estate, a Minnesota Probate Claim against the estate.
This means that if the supplementary notice is not provided to all creditors, the estate may have to be held open for at least one year before it can be closed.
However, if the supplementary notice is provided to all known and identified creditors, the estate can be closed upon the expiration of the primary four month claims period.
If you need assistance with respect to a particular Minnesota Probate Claim, or multiple Minnesota Probate Claims, contact attorney Gary C. Dahle, at 763-780-8390, or [email protected].
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Gary C. Dahle is also licensed in North Dakota.
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Gary C. Dahle – Attorney at Law
2704 Mounds View Blvd., Mounds View, MN 55112
Phone: 763-780-8390 Fax: 763-780-1735
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Minnesota Department of Health – Death Records Index – 1997 to Present: http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/chs/osr/DecdIndex/dthSearch.cfm
Minnesota Historical Society – Death Records; 1904 – 2001: http://www.mnhs.org/people/deathrecords
Minnesota Department of Health – Birth Certificates – http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/chs/osr/birth.html
Minnesota Historical Society – Birth Records: http://www.mnhs.org/people/birthrecords
Minnesota Marriage Records – https://moms.mn.gov/
Gary C. Dahle - an Attorney primarily located in Mounds View, Minnesota, but having a satellite office in Faribault, Minnesota - represents clients in Minnesota Probate Law matters in Mounds View, New Brighton, Blaine, Spring Lake Park, Fridley, Columbia Heights, Coon Rapids, Lino Lakes, Lexington, East Bethel, Ham Lake, Anoka, Minneapolis, White Bear Lake, St. Paul, Vadnais Heights, Arden Hills, Maplewood, Little Canada, Roseville, North Oaks, Shoreview, Stillwater, Faribault, and all other communities in Ramsey County, Anoka County, Hennepin County, Dakota County, Washington County, and Rice County, and throughout greater Minnesota.
