# Probate Law **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 17, 2009, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probate-law/506753 "2009-08-17T17:42:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Harry1945](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Harry1945](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harry1945)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2009, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probate-law/506753/1 "2009-08-17T17:42:59Z")
First of all, this is a matter of concern only to a casual acquaintance on another message board. I am not asking for legal advice for myself or anyone else. Here are the pertinent points of his post: > [@](#): > > [After a surviving parent’s death]Everything went through the probate process, and the probate judge determined in June that everything belonged to my wife now (there was no will- she’s his only heir). > > Anyway, 2 days ago (saturday) we received a letter from the State of MO telling us that they had paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for his care and now they wanted all of the estate assets to offset that cost. I hadn’t heard about that law before… He is not questioning the law, and has his own attorney, but another poster made the claim that The State’s right to claim assets from an estate ends after probate. Given that laws will vary from state to state, is the response concerning probate generally correct? This is merely curiousity on my part. ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2009, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probate-law/506753/2 "2009-08-17T18:50:07Z")
I only have experience with probate in Indiana and Mississippi; in both cases, once the probate period is closed, claims cannot be enforced because the probate period exists precisely to settle them. They snoozed, they loose. FWIW, the probate period in MS was 30 days; IN was 60. Both happened more than 10 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Harry1945](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Harry1945](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harry1945)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2009, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probate-law/506753/3 "2009-08-17T23:47:55Z")
As it happens, in my haste to ask the question, I missed the part of my friend’s question which said this was Medicaid-related. It seems that involves a different set of rules.