Montana Code 53-6-169. Payment of excess burial funds or assets to department
53-6-169. Payment of excess burial funds or assets to department. (1) After the death of a person who at any time received medicaid benefits, a mortician, funeral director, or other person, including but not limited to the decedent‘s spouse, heir, devisee, or personal representative, who holds funds or other property in excess of $5,000 in value that was specifically designated and set aside for paying for the disposition of the decedent’s remains and for related expenses shall, after paying for the disposition and related expenses, pay all remaining funds to the department within 30 days following the burial, cremation, or other final disposition of the decedent’s remains. The funds must be paid to the department regardless of any provision in a written contract, trust, or other agreement entered into on or after July 1, 1995, directing a different disposition of the funds. Funds paid to the department under this section are not considered to be property of the decedent’s estate, and 53-6-167 does not apply to recovery of the funds by the department.
Terms Used In Montana Code 53-6-169
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Decedent: A deceased person.
- Department: means the department of public health and human services provided for in 2-15-2201. See Montana Code 53-6-155
- Medicaid: means the Montana medical assistance program established under Title 53, chapter 6. See Montana Code 53-6-155
- Person: includes a corporation or other entity as well as a natural person. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- Property: means real and personal property. See Montana Code 1-1-205
- Recoverable medical assistance: means a payment pursuant to this part, including but not limited to a payment made for items or services provided to and insurance premiums, deductibles, and coinsurance paid on behalf of a recipient who:
(i)during the recipient's lifetime, was an inpatient in a nursing facility, intermediate care facility for the developmentally disabled, or institution for mental disease and, with respect to that institutionalization, the department determined under 53-6-171 that the person was not reasonably expected to be discharged and return home; or
(ii)was at least 55 years of age or younger if allowed by 42 U. See Montana Code 53-6-165
- Recovery: means legal action brought for the payment or repayment of recoverable medical assistance or amounts of money paid for other purposes. See Montana Code 53-6-165
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
(2)The department shall apply any funds received under this section proportionately to the federal and state shares of recoverable medical assistance and shall pay any remaining amount to a person entitled by law to the funds.