Case Law Update: Government Benefits

A three year statute of limitation applies to claims for reimbursement of medical benefits. 

In Maxwell-Jolly v. Martin, 129 Cal. Rptr. 3d 278 (Ct. App. 2011), a case of first impression, the California intermediate appellate court held that the three year statute of limitations applicable to a liability created by statute applies to the state’s claim for reimbursement for medical benefits against a trust established by the deceased recipient of those benefits. In so holding, the court rejected the remainder beneficiaries’ argument that the one-year period applicable to claims arising from “a promise or agreement with a decedent to distribution from an estate . . . or trust” should apply. 

Special thanks to William P. LaPiana (Rita and Joseph Solomon Professor of Wills, Trusts,and Estates, New York Law School) for sending me this case law update.