Spouses on the Hook or Not?
Comments (1) Two conflicting Massachusetts laws came to a head recently in a Superior Court in Springfield. The issue was whether a widow would have to pay her husband’s $45,000 nursing home bill which was left after he died. The nursing home, East Longmeadow Management Systems, Inc. (that’s a warm and fuzzy name, huh?) sued Mrs. Wilson, trying to put a lien on her home to satisfy the debt. The wife had never signed a contract accepting financial responsibility for any services and, moreover, Mr. Wilson was never on the deed of the home. The Mrs. argued she should not be liable.
So, here’s the conflicting scenarios: 1) a 1974 law stated that “a married woman shall not be liable for her husband’s (or husbands’?) debts, but a married woman shall be jointly liable for her husband’s debts, to the amount of $100, for ‘necessaries’ furnished with her knowledge or consent”. 2) a 1979 statute says that “both spouses shall be jointly or separately liable for debts incurred on account of ‘necessaries’ furnished to either spouse”. Case law is clear that medical and hospital bills could be “necessaries.”
So, how did the judge rule? In favor of the 1979 statute, so Mrs. Wilson has to pay. It’s not clear if she has to cough up money now, or whether the debt can be satisfied after she dies and her house is sold (the method of choice for asset recovery under Medicaid). Nursing homes are getting more aggressive in their collection efforts. Please don’t ignore these issues. Discuss them with family and get your assets protected. Until next time, here’s to good planning!
