The statute specifically provides the claim to a creditor of a spouse.The Supreme Court of Ohio recently addressed this issue in Embassy Healthcare v. Bell, 155 Ohio St.3d 430, 2018-Ohio-4912, 122 N.E.3d 117. The Court stated: "We conclude that a creditor must present its claim for unpaid necessaries to the decedent's estate under R.C. 2117.06 before it can pursue a claim individually against the surviving spouse under R.C. 3103.03." ¶2
As the Ohio Supreme Court has clearly held, the Necessaries Statute "does not impose joint liability on a married person for the debts of his or her spouse." Embassy Healthcare v. Bell , 155 Ohio St.3d 430, 122 N.E.3d 117, 121 (2018). Rather, "[a] creditor must ... first seek satisfaction of its claim from the assets of the spouse who incurred the debt" and must show that the debtor-spouse is "unable to pay" for a nondebtor-spouse to be liable under the Necessaries Statute.
This obligation has been construed as one to provide for the child's "necessaries," which we have defined in a related context as "food, shelter, clothing, and medical services." Embassy Healthcare v. Bell , 155 Ohio St.3d 430, 2018-Ohio-4912, 122 N.E.3d 117, ¶ 4 (construing doctrine according to which a husband was liable to third parties for necessaries they had provided to his wife). {¶ 60} The statutory duty of child support requires a "biological or adoptive parent of a minor child" to "support the parent's minor children out of the parent's property or by the parent's labor."
"Creditor" for the purposes of R.C. 2117.06 has been "broadly defined by the Ohio Supreme Court," and includes "'all persons having rights in action against the decedent.'" Harshbarger v. Moody, 3d Dist. Logan No. 8-09-13, 2010-Ohio-103, ¶ 20; Embassy Healthcare v. Bell, 155 Ohio St.3d 430, 2018-Ohio-4912, 122 N.E.3d 117, ¶ 28 (citation omitted).
On December 12, 2018, the Ohio Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals, finding Embassy's claim was barred by Ohio Revised Code § 2117.06. Embassy Healthcare v. Bell, 155 Ohio St. 3d 430, 438, 122 N.E.3d 117, 124 (Ohio 2018). The Ohio Supreme Court held that:
On December 12, 2018, the Ohio Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals, finding Embassy's claim was barred by Ohio Revised Code § 2117.06. Embassy Healthcare v. Bell, 155 Ohio St. 3d 430, 438, 122 N.E.3d 117, 124 (Ohio 2018). The Ohio Supreme Court held that:
"[A] claim that is not presented within six months after the death of the decedent shall be forever barred * * *." R.C. 2117.06(C); Embassy Healthcare v. Bell, 155 Ohio St.3d 430, 2018-Ohio-4912, ¶ 8.
The statute has been utilized by nursing facilities seeking to obtain payment from the spouse of a non-paying resident. See Embassy Healthcare v. Bell, 155 Ohio St.3d 430, 2018-Ohio-4912. It is undisputed that Mary Gloria was George's spouse and that Otterbein provided George with necessaries during his stay at Otterbein's facility.
{¶21} Generally, medical bills and expenses related to a decedent's last sickness must be presented to an estate pursuant to the statutory requirement within six months of the decedent's death. In re Estate of Greer, 197 Ohio App.3d 542, 2011-Ohio-6721, ¶ 7-9 (1st Dist.); see also Embassy Healthcare v. Bell, 155 Ohio St.3d 430, 2018-Ohio-4912, ¶ 29 (creditor with a contractual claim to payment for services rendered to decedent must present its claim to an estate in accordance with R.C. 2117.06). {¶22} Here, the probate court concluded the "amount" of Summa's claim was contingent until it was finally settled as to the amount the insurance would pay, if anything, and therefore uncertain until Western Reserve made its final decision.
Nor was this an action by a creditor of the estate that would be time-barred by R.C. 2117.06. Embassy Healthcare v. Bell, 155 Ohio St.3d 430, 2018-Ohio-4912, ¶ 29 (a creditor must present its claim for unpaid necessaries to the decedent's estate under R.C. 2117.06). {¶31} To that end, we reiterate that there does not appear to be any appreciable discovery as to the claims made by Plaintiffs.