Estate of Keeler, In re, No. 3-684A164

• Docket Nº: No. 3-684A164
• Citation: 476 N.E.2d 917
• Case Date: April 22, 1985
• Court: Court of Appeals of Indiana

Page 917

476 N.E.2d 917 In re the Matter of the Estate of James W. KEELER, (Deceased).
Judy Marie KEELER (now Francis), Appellant (Defendant Below),
v.
LaGRANGE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WELFARE, Appellee
(Plaintiff Below). No. 3-684A164. Court of Appeals of Indiana,
Third District. April 22, 1985.

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Kevin L. Likes, Grimm & Grimm, P.C., Auburn, for appellant.

J. Scott Vanderbeck, Richard K. Muntz, P.C., LaGrange, for appellee.

STATON, Presiding Judge.

Judy Marie Keeler (now Francis) appeals a trial court order awarding the LaGrange County of Public Welfare reimbursement for expenditures made on behalf of Judy while she was a minor ward of the Welfare Department after the death of both of her parents. The award was made from Judy's share of a wrongful death recovery received for the death of Judy's father. The court ordered the trustee of the funds to pay two-thirds of Judy's share to the Welfare Department in partial reimbursement for expenditures which exceeded Social Security payments received by the department on Judy's behalf.

Judy presents the following issues for review:

(1) Did the trial court err in entering a nunc pro tunc order to change the docket sheet to reflect the timely filing of the Welfare Department's claim?

(2) Did the trial court err in not dismissing the Welfare Department's claim as improperly filed against the closed estate of James Keeler?

(3) Did the trial court err as a matter of law in ordering reimbursement of the Welfare Department pursuant to IC 31-6-4-18(b)?

We affirm.

After the death of her father in an automobile accident, Judy was made a ward of the Welfare Department in 1980. An estate was opened and a wrongful death action was pursued to a successful settlement. After attorney fees and costs of administration were deducted, a fund of approximately $10,000.00 remained for distribution to Judy and her three younger sisters. The LaGrange Circuit Court ultimately approved the final accounting of the personal representative of the estate and ordered the remaining funds to be distributed to the four minor heirs in four equal portions to be held in trust by Farmers State Bank as guardian of the estate of the children.

When Judy became eighteen years of age, she requested that Farmers release her share of the funds held in trust. The bank petitioned the court for instructions regarding the demand and the court ordered a hearing. At the hearing on August 26, 1983 the court found, sua sponte, that the LaGrange County Department of Public Welfare claimed a "lien" for expenses advanced on behalf of Judy and granted the Department twenty-one days to file a claim for their lien.

The Welfare Department's claim was for $5,657.60. This claim represented the difference between the Social Security payments received for Judy's care and the actual expenditures made by the Welfare Department.

I.

Nunc Pro Tunc Entry

On February 21, 1984 the court held a hearing on the claim. Judy's attorney moved to strike the claim for being untimely filed. The file stamp on the original claim was illegible but the docket sheet entry indicated the claim was filed September 19, 1983--more than 21 days after August 26, 1983. Neither party presented any evidence other than the docket sheet entry regarding the actual time of filing. The court determined that the file stamp read September 14 and overruled the motion to strike, holding the claim timely filed. The docket sheet was ordered corrected to reflect September 14 as the true filing date. The Welfare Department, in its brief seems to concede that the claim was not filed within twenty-one (21) days as ordered, but argues that the trial court had the discretion to hear the belated claim

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anyway. Since the record is somewhat unclear, we must defer to the trial court's stated reasons for finding the claim timely filed. Judy is appealing a negative judgment on this issue and we will not reverse if there is any evidence to sustain the court's finding. Woodward Ins., Inc. v. White (1982), Ind., 437 N.E.2d 59, 67. Rogers v. Rogers (1982), Ind.App., 437 N.E.2d 92, 95. The court indicated that the file stamp was bad, but determined that September 14, 1983 was the date stamped on the claim. Moreover, the claim was signed and dated by the director of the LaGrange Department on September 14, 1983. There was, therefore, some evidence from which the trial court could have determined that the claim was timely filed and we cannot say that the trial court's action was clearly against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances before it. This being the case, an order changing the docket sheet entry was proper. Grider v. Scharf (1947), 225 Ind. 251, 73 N.E.2d 75, 80 (the purpose of a nunc pro tunc entry is to make the record speak the truth.).

II.

Claim Against the Estate

Judy next argues that the trial court improperly permitted the Welfare Department to file a claim against her father's estate which had been closed more than a year earlier. She argues that since the estate was closed and the funds distributed there was nothing against which to file a claim. It is undisputed that this action proceeded under the cause number of James Keeler's estate. When Farmers State Bank filed its Guardian's Petition for Instructions, it filed under the estate caption and cause number. When Judy's attorney raised this issue at the hearing the following colloquy took place:

"LIKES: Your Honor, it looks like they filed a claim against the estate. I don't see any claim ever against ever filed against the guardianship [sic ].

MUNTZ: (counsel for the bank) We don't always file our guardian's reports in the-the [sic ] estate, Judge. As we-there wasn't ever a separate guardianship cause set up for us. So, I've always filed everything under P-80-27 because the J-80 something is a juvenile case and there's no G number anywhere.

COURT: This is the nature of a custom entry guardianship and if you put a G number you just raise the court costs. Well in any event, it got to this file."

There is some conflict regarding the formal appointment of Farmers as guardian and the record does not contain the proceedings in which the guardianship was established. The record does contain, however, evidence that all parties concerning considered and believed Farmers State Bank to be the duly appointed guardian of the children's estate. Farmers consented to the personal representative's petition to compromise claims for insurance benefits; Farmers appeared and objected to the terms of an annuity agreement (not in issue here) entered by the estate on behalf of the children; the court, in its findings on the final accounting of the estate, found that Farmers had been appointed guardian of the estate of...