WILLIAM C. KOCH, JR., J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which CORNELIA A. CLARK, C.J., JANICE M. HOLDER, GARY R. WADE, and SHARON G. LEE, JJ., joined.
In this case, we address the following two matters: (1) the proper procedure for obtaining appellate review of a judgment of a probate court created by private act upholding a claim filed by the Bureau of TennCare against the estate of a TennCare recipient and (2) the right of TennCare to obtain reimbursement for properly paid TennCare benefits from real property owned by the recipient at the time of her death. After the decedent's will was admitted to probate in the Putnam County Probate Court, TennCare filed a claim against her estate seeking reimbursement for services provided through the TennCare program. The decedent's personal representative filed an exception to this claim. After the probate court upheld TennCare's claim, the estate appealed to the Circuit Court for Putnam County. The circuit court determined that the decedent's real property was not subject to TennCare's claim, and TennCare appealed to the Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals held that the circuit court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the appeal from the probate court and that the appeal should have been filed with the Court of Appeals. Accordingly, it vacated the circuit court's judgment and affirmed the judgment of the probate court. In re Estate of Trigg, No. M2009-02107-COA-R3-CV, 2011 WL 497459, at *3 (Tenn.Ct.App. Feb. 9, 2011). We granted the estate's application for permission to appeal to determine whether the circuit court had subject matter jurisdiction over the estate's appeal from the probate court's order upholding TennCare's claim and whether real property owned by the recipient at the time of her death is subject to TennCare's claims. We have determined that the circuit court lacked jurisdiction over the estate's appeal from the probate court's judgment regarding TennCare's disputed claim and that the real property owned by the decedent at the time of her death is subject to TennCare's claims for reimbursement.
Ardell Hamilton Trigg passed away on August 5, 2006. She left behind a small estate consisting of some personal property and a house. Her will, leaving her real property to Susan and Mark Shaw, was filed for probate in the Putnam County Probate Court on October 26, 2006. The probate court named Ms. Shaw as the personal representative of Ms. Trigg's estate.
Ms. Shaw placed a notice to creditors of the estate in the Cookeville Herald-Citizen on November 10, 2006. On May 23, 2007, the Bureau of TennCare ("TennCare") filed a claim against the estate seeking to recover $22,319.09 for nursing home and long-term care services provided to Ms. Trigg between 2002 and 2006. Ms. Shaw filed exceptions to TennCare's claim. Following a June 18, 2008 hearing, the probate court filed an order on June 22, 2008, overruling the estate's exception to the claim. Ms. Shaw, on behalf of Ms. Trigg's estate, appealed the probate
As far as this record shows, the only portions of the probate court's record that were filed in the circuit court were TennCare's claim, the estate's exception to the claim, and the probate court's order. Neither party preserved a record of the proceedings before the probate court. Following a hearing on August 21, 2009, the circuit court filed an order on August 31, 2009, upholding the estate's exception to TennCare's claim against the real property that Ms. Trigg owned when she died. The circuit court reasoned that the real property was not part of Ms. Trigg's estate because it passed under her will to her beneficiaries at the time of her death. Accordingly, the circuit court remanded the case to the probate court to determine whether the estate contained any other assets that could be used to satisfy TennCare's claim.
TennCare appealed the circuit court's decision to the Court of Appeals.
In an opinion handed down on February 9, 2011, the Court of Appeals concluded that the circuit court lacked jurisdiction over the estate's appeal from the probate court. In re Estate of Trigg, No. M2009-02107-COA-R3-CV, 2011 WL 497459, at *3 (Tenn.Ct.App. Feb. 9, 2011). Accordingly, the Court of Appeals, without reaching the merits, vacated the circuit court's judgment, affirmed the probate court's judgment, and remanded the case to the probate court for further proceedings. In re Estate of Trigg, 2011 WL 497459, at *3.
Ms. Trigg's estate filed a Tenn. R.App. P. 11 application for permission to appeal. We granted this application to address the proper procedure to obtain appellate review of a decision of a probate court created by private act and to determine whether current Tennessee law permits TennCare to satisfy its claims for reimbursement of properly paid benefits from real property passing outside of a TennCare recipient's probate estate.
We turn first to the circuit court's subject matter jurisdiction over the estate's appeal from the probate court's judgment. The estate asserts that Tenn.Code Ann. § 30-2-609(c) (2007 & Supp.2011) confers jurisdiction on the Circuit Court for Putnam County to hear appeals from the Putnam County Probate Court. TennCare responds that the Court of Appeals has jurisdiction over appeals from the decisions of the Putnam County Probate Court because, in probate matters, the probate court has concurrent jurisdiction with the circuit court and because Tenn.Code Ann. § 30-2-315(b) (2007) confers appellate jurisdiction on the Court of Appeals with regard to appeals from a probate court's decision regarding claims against an estate that are tried without a jury. We have determined that TennCare has the better argument.
Subject matter jurisdiction relates to a court's authority to adjudicate a particular type of case or controversy brought before it. Osborn v. Marr, 127 S.W.3d 737, 739 (Tenn.2004); Northland Ins. Co. v. State, 33 S.W.3d 727, 729 (Tenn. 2000). A court derives subject matter jurisdiction, either explicitly or by necessary implication, from the Constitution of Tennessee or from a statute enacted by the Tennessee General Assembly or Congress. Osborn v. Marr, 127 S.W.3d at 739; Meighan v. U.S. Sprint Commc'ns Co., 924 S.W.2d 632, 639 (Tenn.1996); Walker v. White, 89 S.W.3d 573, 577 (Tenn.Ct.App. 2002). The parties cannot confer subject matter jurisdiction on a trial or appellate court by appearance, plea, consent, silence, or waiver. Caton v. Pic-Walsh Freight Co., 211 Tenn. 334, 338, 364 S.W.2d 931, 933 (1963); Brown v. Brown, 198 Tenn. 600, 619, 281 S.W.2d 492, 501 (1955).
Because the orders and judgments entered by courts without jurisdiction over the subject matter of a dispute are void, Brown v. Brown, 198 Tenn. at 610, 281 S.W.2d at 497, issues regarding a court's subject matter jurisdiction should be considered as a threshold inquiry, Redwing v. Catholic Bishop for the Diocese of Memphis, 363 S.W.3d 436, 445 (Tenn. 2012), and should be resolved at the earliest possible opportunity. When a court's subject matter jurisdiction over a particular claim is challenged, the claimant must demonstrate that the court has the jurisdiction to adjudicate its claim. Redwing v. Catholic Bishop for the Diocese of Memphis, 363 S.W.3d at 445.
Determining whether subject matter jurisdiction exists in a particular case requires the courts to examine (1) the nature or gravamen of the cause of action, (2) the nature of the relief being sought, and (3) the constitutional or statutory provisions relied upon by the plaintiff. See Northland Ins. Co. v. State, 33 S.W.3d at 729; Landers v. Jones, 872 S.W.2d 674, 675 (Tenn.1994). All these matters involve questions of law. Therefore, determinations regarding a court's subject matter jurisdiction are questions of law which will be reviewed de novo without a presumption of correctness. Northland Ins. Co. v. State, 33 S.W.3d at 729; Benson v. Herbst, 240 S.W.3d 235, 239 (Tenn.Ct.App.2007).
The jurisdictional dispute in this case arises from the parties' respective reliance on seemingly conflicting statutes that appear to vest subject matter jurisdiction over appeals from probate court judgments in different courts. Accordingly, we are required to construe these statutes to determine where jurisdiction for an appeal from a decision of the Putnam County Probate Court relating to a disputed claim against an estate lies. The construction of
When we are called upon to construe statutes, we must first ascertain their purpose and then we must give this purpose the fullest possible effect without expanding the application of the statute beyond its intended scope. Carter v. Bell, 279 S.W.3d 560, 564 (Tenn.2009); Walker v. Sunrise Pontiac-GMC Truck, Inc., 249 S.W.3d 301, 309 (Tenn.2008). The text of the statute is of primary importance to this endeavor. Mills v. Fulmarque, Inc., 360 S.W.3d 362, 368 (Tenn.2012). We must (1) give these words their natural and ordinary meaning, (2) consider them in the context of the entire statute, and (3) presume that the General Assembly intended to give each of these words its full effect. Knox Cnty. ex rel. Envtl. Termite & Pest Control, Inc. v. Arrow Exterminators, Inc., 350 S.W.3d 511, 524 (Tenn.2011).
The seeds of the jurisdictional confusion surrounding probate proceedings in Tennessee courts and their appeals were sown centuries ago in England. Our probate courts trace their lineage to the English courts of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when three courts exercised jurisdiction over matters relating to the probate and the administration of decedents' estates. Each of these courts had limited jurisdiction. Thus, a decedent's creditors, heirs, legatees, and others claiming an interest in the decedent's property were required to select the correct court depending on the nature of the property interest they were claiming and on the relief they sought.
The Court of King's Bench and the Court of Common Pleas could provide the relief available at common law with regard to the decedent's real and personal property. The High Court of Chancery could provide equitable relief with regard to the decedent's real and personal property if the relief available at common law was not adequate. These three royal courts were the only courts with jurisdiction over claims involving real property.
The American colonies replicated the English model to a certain extent. Some colonies, particularly those in New England, created a single court with broad jurisdiction over the probate of wills and the administration of estates.
Before Tennessee became a state, the State of North Carolina created county courts called the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions that had two functions — serving as the governing body of the county and acting as a judicial tribunal with limited civil and criminal jurisdiction.
When Tennessee drafted its constitution and became a state in 1796, it inherited the "legal and political institutions" created by North Carolina, except to the extent that these institutions conflicted with the new Constitution of Tennessee.
The Tennessee Constitution of 1834 left the establishment of inferior courts to the General Assembly and provided for establishing courts to be held by justices of the peace. Tenn. Const. art. VI, §§ 1, 3 (1834). The first General Assembly that convened following the adoption of the 1834 Constitution re-created the county courts and gave them the same civil jurisdiction that they had exercised under existing law. Act of Dec. 3, 1835, ch. 6, §§ 1, 3, 1835 Tenn. Pub. Acts 45, 45-46; Pritchard 2d § 35, at 41-42.
Tennessee's probate system remained relatively unchanged for over one hundred years. In 1939, the General Assembly modified the probate laws in an effort "to afford a simple, inexpensive, and expeditious remedy for [the] administration of estates of decedents." Cooper's Estate v. Keathley, 27 Tenn.App. 7, 15, 177 S.W.2d 356, 359 (1943); see also Bowling v. Minton, 193 Tenn. 141, 145, 244 S.W.2d 998, 1000 (1951) (stating that the purpose of the 1939 Act "was to expedite the settling up of estates"). This legislation (1) required the decedent's personal representative to provide public notice of the probate proceeding in order to enable creditors to file
Under the 1939 legislation, all issues relating to claims against an estate or exceptions to these claims were tried by the county court. Neither the claimant nor the estate was entitled to a jury trial; however, dissatisfied parties could obtain a jury trial by appeal to the circuit court. See Commerce Union Bank v. Gillespie, 178 Tenn. 179, 187, 156 S.W.2d 425, 428 (1940).
Shortly after the 1939 legislation became effective, Commerce Union Bank filed a declaratory judgment action seeking instructions regarding the establishment of a trust created in the will of J.W. Gillepsie. Commerce Union Bank v. Gillespie, 178 Tenn. at 185, 156 S.W.2d at 427. Despite concerns that the questions raised by the bank were not justiciable,
Three years later, this Court revisited the question of the court to which a county court's judgment regarding a claim against a decedent's estate should be appealed. After candidly acknowledging that the decision in Commerce Union Bank v. Gillespie had "failed to deal more clearly" with the question, this Court squarely held that appeals in these cases were properly taken to the circuit court, while appeals from judgments ordering the sale of a decedent's real property to pay the estate's debts were properly filed in either the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court depending on the nature of the proceeding
In 1947, the General Assembly again prescribed different procedures for the disposition of claims against an estate. When a claimant or person excepting to a claim requested a jury trial, the county court was required to certify the case to the circuit court for disposition.
The 1978 ratification of amendments to the Constitution of Tennessee brought about additional significant changes in probate practice in Tennessee. By the mid-1970s, the judicial powers of the county judge had been eroded by the establishment of general sessions courts, and the county judge was serving essentially as "mayor of the county."
In 1978, the General Assembly undertook to vest the newly created county executives with the judicial powers formerly held by the county judges.
In 1980, the Tennessee General Assembly vested the chancery courts with "all jurisdiction relating to the probate of wills and the administration of estates."
The 1980 legislation did not explicitly address the manner in which the judgments of probate courts excluded under Tenn.Code Ann. § 16-16-201(a) should be appealed.
Tenn.Code Ann. § 30-2-609 (2001).
Applying the current version of Tenn. Code Ann. § 30-2-609, the first tier includes counties having a population of 500,000 or more according to the 2000 federal census or any subsequent federal census. Tenn.Code Ann. § 30-2-609(a). In these counties, the judgments of probate courts finally settling accounts are appealed to the Court of Appeals. Tenn.Code Ann. § 30-2-609(a). The second tier includes counties in which the population is less than 500,000 according to the 2000 federal census or any subsequent federal census and in which the probate judge "is the circuit court judge or chancellor of the judicial district." Tenn.Code Ann. § 30-2-609(b)(1), (d). In these counties, all judgments relating to the settlement of accounts or to any other probate matter are likewise appealed to the Court of Appeals. Tenn.Code Ann. § 30-2-609(b)(1), (d).
The procedure for appeals from courts exercising probate jurisdiction in the third-tier counties resembles the appellate process Tennessee inherited from North Carolina. This tier includes counties with a population of less than 500,000 according to the 2000 federal census or any subsequent federal census and in which the probate judge "is not the circuit court judge or chancellor of the judicial district." Tenn.Code Ann. § 30-2-609(b)(2), (c) (emphasis added).
Ms. Trigg's estate asserts that Tenn.Code Ann. § 30-2-609(c)
We must construe the statutes relating to appeals in probate proceedings in light of other statutes that involve the same subject matter or that share a common purpose. SNPCO, Inc. v. City of Jefferson City, 363 S.W.3d 467, 475 (Tenn. 2012). In doing so, we should, whenever possible, avoid interpreting related statutes in a way that places them in conflict with each other. Graham v. Caples, 325 S.W.3d 578, 582 (Tenn.2010); Sharp v. Richardson, 937 S.W.2d 846, 849 (Tenn. 1996) (quoting Cronin v. Howe, 906 S.W.2d 910, 912 (Tenn.1995)).
Viewed in the context of a probate proceeding, Tenn.Code Ann. § 30-2-315(b) and Tenn.Code Ann. § 30-2-609(c) are not in conflict. The two statutes apply to separate facets of a probate proceeding. Tenn.Code Ann. § 30-2-315(b) governs appeals from orders involving claims against an estate filed in a probate proceeding; while Tenn.Code Ann. § 30-2-609(c) governs appeals from orders approving the final settlement of an estate.
The probate of a decedent's will and the administration of a decedent's estate are among the most complex areas of the law. See 18 Secor § 1:1, at 1. The probate proceeding provides the vehicle for identifying and collecting the decedent's property, paying the debts of the decedent and the estate in an orderly way, and distributing the remainder of the estate to those entitled to share in the estate either under the decedent's will or according to the laws of descent and distribution. Lillard v. Tolliver, 154 Tenn. 304, 312, 285 S.W. 576, 578 (1926) (superseded by statute as recognized in In re Estate of Barnhill, 62 S.W.3d 139, 142-43 (Tenn.2001)).
A probate proceeding is not an action between the parties, but rather an in rem action that focuses on the decedent's estate. Petty v. Call, 599 S.W.2d 791, 793 (Tenn.1980) (quoting Hodges v. Bauchman, 16 Tenn. (8 Yer.) 186, 187 (1835)); Fransioli v. Podesta, 175 Tenn. 340, 347, 134 S.W.2d 162, 165 (1939). Commencing a probate proceeding gives interested parties the opportunity to contest the validity of the will offered for probate
An integral part of the proceeding in probate court involves the resolution of claims against the estate. These claims may be filed in the probate proceeding itself,
Once the personal representative has completed the administration of the estate by identifying and inventorying all the decedent's assets, paying all claims or making arrangements for disputed claims, and providing for the expenses of administration and taxes, the personal representative may file a report of the final settlement of the estate and may request that the probate proceedings be closed.
This case is an appeal from a decision of the Putnam County Probate Court, sitting without a jury, involving TennCare's claim against Ms. Trigg's estate. The estate filed an exception to the claim, and the probate court resolved it pursuant to its authority under Tenn.Code Ann. § 30-2-315. Accordingly, the party seeking an appeal from the probate court's judgment sustaining the claim — here Ms. Trigg's estate — could appeal only to the Court of Appeals in accordance with Tenn.Code Ann. § 30-2-315(b). Review in accordance with Tenn.Code Ann. § 30-2-609(b)(2) was not available because the probate court's decision being appealed from did not involve the final settlement of the estate by the personal representative.
Because the circuit court lacked subject matter jurisdiction under Tenn.Code Ann. § 30-2-609(b)(2), the Court of Appeals vacated the circuit court's judgment and affirmed the probate court's judgment. While we agree with the Court of Appeals that Ms. Trigg's estate appealed the probate court's decision to the wrong court, we do not agree with the Court of Appeals
In a similar circumstance, a party holding papers belonging to a decedent's estate appealed an adverse decision by the Probate Division of the Madison County General Sessions Court to the Circuit Court for Madison County. In re Estate of Williams, Madison Law No. 1, 1985 Tenn. App. LEXIS 2889, at *1 (Tenn.Ct.App. May 23, 1985). The circuit court determined that the appeal should have been filed with the Court of Appeals and dismissed the appeal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. In re Estate of Williams, 1985 Tenn.App. LEXIS 2889, at *1. The Court of Appeals affirmed. In re Estate of Williams, 1985 Tenn.App. LEXIS 2889, at *13.
Even though this Court agreed that the appeal should have been taken to the Court of Appeals rather than to the circuit court, we held in a per curiam order that "it was error simply to dismiss the appeal taken by mistake to the circuit court." In re Estate of Williams, Madison Law (Tenn., per curiam order filed Nov. 18, 1985). Citing Tenn.Code Ann. § 16-4-108 (1980),
Consistent with our 1985 order in In re Estate of Williams, the Court of Appeals should have vacated the circuit court's judgment and remanded the case to the circuit court with directions to transfer the case to the Court of Appeals in accordance with Tenn.Code Ann. § 16-4-108(a)(2). Once the case was properly before it, the Court of Appeals could then have addressed the substantive issues raised by the parties.
In light of the procedural history of this case, we see nothing to be gained by remanding the case to the Court of Appeals for consideration of the issues on their merits. The parties have already briefed these issues in this Court and have presented oral arguments to the Court. The interests of the parties and judicial economy favor a just, speedy, and less costly resolution on the merits of the dispute regarding TennCare's claim against Ms. Trigg's estate. Tenn. R.App. P. 36(a) vests in this Court the authority to grant relief on the law and the facts to which the parties are entitled or the proceedings otherwise require, as long as the relief does not contravene the province of the trier of fact. Accordingly, invoking our authority under Tenn. R.App. P. 36(a), we elect to address directly the legal issue concerning TennCare's right to seek reimbursement from Ms. Trigg's estate, including real
Ms. Trigg's estate argues that the probate court erred by upholding TennCare's claim and by permitting TennCare to seek reimbursement for the services it provided Ms. Trigg from the real property she owned at the time of her death. The estate insists that TennCare cannot reach Ms. Trigg's real property because the Tennessee General Assembly has not enacted the expanded definition of "estate" as permitted by 42 U.S.C. § 1396p(b)(4)(B) (2006). We have determined that both federal and state law permit TennCare to reach real property owned by a TennCare recipient at the time of death to obtain reimbursement for services supplied through the TennCare program.
Title XIX of the Social Security Act of 1965 established the Medicaid program, a joint federal-state program to provide medical services to low-income persons sixty-five years of age or older, blind persons, disabled persons, and others unable to afford these services. See Harris v. McRae, 448 U.S. 297, 301, 100 S.Ct. 2671, 65 L.Ed.2d 784 (1980); In re Estate of Tanner, 295 S.W.3d 610, 614 (Tenn.2009). The program is jointly funded by the federal government and the states, and each state operates its own program in accordance with federal requirements. Bell ex rel. Bell v. Tennessee Dep't of Human Servs., No. M2004-00526-COA-R3-CV, 2006 WL 74143, at *2 (Tenn.Ct.App. Jan. 12, 2006) (No Tenn. R.App. P. 11 application filed).
Tennessee began participating in the Medicaid program when the Tennessee General Assembly enacted the Medical Assistance Act of 1968.
Over time, the cost of the Medicaid program to the federal government and the states increased dramatically. See James F. Blumstein & Frank A. Sloane, Health Care Reform Through Medicaid Managed Care: Tennessee (TennCare) as a Case Study and a Paradigm, 53 Vand. L.Rev. 125, 140 (2000). Responding to these increases, Congress included a provision in the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 requiring the states to recover the cost of Medicaid benefits from the estates of certain Medicaid recipients. Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, Pub.L. No. 103-66, § 13612(a), 107 Stat. 312, 627-28; see In re Estate of Tanner, 295 S.W.3d at 614-15.
In an effort to control costs and to use Medicaid funds more efficiently, Tennessee created the TennCare program and obtained permission from the Federal Healthcare Financing Administration to begin operating the program on January 1, 1994. See State ex rel. Pope v. Xantus Healthplan of Tenn., Inc., No. M2000-00120-COA-R10-CV,
The Tennessee General Assembly enacted the TennCare Reform Act in 2002.
We assume for the purposes of this appeal that TennCare had the statutory authority to recover the payments it made for Ms. Trigg's medical care during her life.
Fortunately, Congress has now provided some guidance to the courts by defining "estate" for purposes of recovering payments under the Medicaid program.
The parties have joined issue on the meaning of "estate" under Tennessee's probate law. Believing that Ms. Trigg's real property was not part of the probate proceeding, Ms. Trigg's estate insists that the "estate" consists only of her personal property. For its part, TennCare asserts that both Congress and the Tennessee General Assembly intended the term "estate" to be "very expansive and include[] all real and personal property in which the individual benefit recipient had a legal title or interest."
The word "estate" is a very comprehensive term in the context of wills and probate proceedings. See Belshe v. Hope, 33 Cal.App.4th 161, 38 Cal.Rptr.2d 917, 925 (1995). Both the United States Supreme Court and this Court, characterizing the word as "genus generalissimum,"
The word "estate" is now "broadly used [in Tennessee] to include both realty and personalty." Haskins v. McCampbell, 189 Tenn. 482, 488, 226 S.W.2d 88, 91 (1949). Thus, when the word appears in a will, without limitations or qualifications, Tennessee's courts construe it to include "every description of property," Nashville Trust Co. v. Grimes, 179 Tenn. 567, 572, 167 S.W.2d 994, 996 (1943); see also Gourley v. Thompson, 34 Tenn. (2 Sneed) 387, 393 (1854), that is descendible, Taul v. Campbell, 15 Tenn. (7 Yer.) 319, 324 (1835).
In Tennessee, title to real property owned by a testate decedent at the time of death vests immediately in the devisees named in the will unless the will specifically directs that the property be part of the estate under the control of the executor. Tenn.Code Ann. § 31-2-103 (2007); see also 2 Pritchard 6th § 634, at 146. However, the fact that the title to the real property vests immediately does not necessarily mean that the real property cannot be subject to the probate proceeding in some circumstances.
Tennessee recognizes the distinction between interests in real property that pass "by right of survivorship" and those that pass by "devise or descent." Real property jointly owned by a decedent with others with a right of survivorship and real property owned by the entirety
In light of the broad and common understanding of the word "estate," we have determined that "estate," for the purpose of 42 U.S.C. § 1396p and Tenn.Code Ann. § 71-5-116, includes not only the personal property owned by a TennCare recipient at the time of death, but also the recipient's interests in real property that are properly subject to the payment of the deceased recipient's debts should the recipient's personal property be insufficient to pay these debts, including the debt to TennCare. Any real property that can be reached by the personal representative pursuant to Tenn.Code Ann. §§ 30-2-401 and 31-2-103 for the payment of the debts of an insolvent estate may be reached by the probate court for the purpose of reimbursing TennCare for the properly paid medical care provided to a deceased recipient in accordance with Tenn.Code Ann. § 71-5-116.
The record in this case, such as it is, reflects that Ms. Trigg owned real property at the time of her death and that she left this property in her will to Susan and Mark Shaw. The Shaws did not assert any sort of joint survivorship interest in the property. Therefore, on the face of the record, the real property owned by Ms. Trigg at the time of her death is not beyond the reach of the probate court to be used for the payment of her debts, including the debt to TennCare, if her personal property was not sufficient to do so. Accordingly, at least as far as this record shows, the probate court correctly concluded that Ms. Trigg's real property was subject to TennCare's claim for reimbursement.
In summary, we find that the Court of Appeals reached the correct result when it affirmed the judgment of the Putnam County Probate Court.