An executor in Brooklyn is clearing out her father’s apartment and finds a file cabinet filled with a decade’s worth of Medicare Summary Notices. The urge to shred the mountain of paper is strong. But this decision isn’t about decluttering—it’s about fiduciary duty. Tossing the wrong document could leave the estate vulnerable to future claims and complicate the settlement process. As the person entrusted with the estate, you have a responsibility to be a prudent steward of its assets—and that stewardship extends to its records.
Why an Executor Must Care About Medicare Paperwork
When I work with families settling an estate, the focus is often on major assets like real estate or investment accounts. The administrative paperwork can feel like a secondary concern, but it is the foundation of a smooth and defensible estate administration. Medicare records, in particular, serve several critical functions for an executor or trustee.
First, these documents are your primary tool for verifying the final medical bills that arrive after a person has passed. Medical billing errors are common, as are claims for services that were never rendered. The Medicare Summary Notices (MSNs) provide a record of what Medicare was billed for and what it paid. Without them, you are simply paying bills in the dark, potentially draining estate assets that should go to the beneficiaries.
Second, the records are essential for preparing the decedent’s final income tax return. Medical expenses can be a significant deduction. To claim them, you need meticulous documentation. The payments detailed in the Medicare records, combined with receipts for supplemental insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs, substantiate the deductions you claim on behalf of the estate. Fulfilling this duty protects the estate from IRS inquiries.
A Practical Timeline for Retaining Medical Records
No single federal law dictates how long an executor must keep a deceased person’s Medicare records. The rules you often hear cited—typically requiring retention for six or seven years—apply to healthcare providers under HIPAA, not to the families themselves. For an executor in New York, the timeline is dictated by the practical needs and legal obligations of the estate.
I advise clients to think in three phases:
- The Estate Administration Period (1-3 Years): Keep everything until the estate is fully settled and all assets have been distributed. This period covers the statute of limitations for most creditors to file a claim against the estate. Once the Surrogate’s Court has approved the final accounting and the beneficiaries have received their inheritance, the risk of a claim related to a final medical bill diminishes significantly.
- The Tax Audit Period (3-7 Years): The IRS generally has three years to audit a tax return. That window can extend to six years if there is a substantial understatement of income. To be cautious, we typically recommend holding onto any records that support tax filings—including proof of medical expense deductions—for at least seven years after the relevant tax return was filed. This aligns your record-keeping with the period of highest risk for a tax audit.
- Long-Term and Special Cases (Indefinite): In rare circumstances, it is prudent to keep records longer. If there is a pending wrongful death lawsuit or a dispute with an insurance company, the records are crucial evidence and must be kept until the matter is fully and finally resolved. Beyond litigation, some families choose to retain a summary of medical history for generational health knowledge, though this is a personal choice, not a legal requirement.
Your Fiduciary Duty Under New York Law
Ultimately, the decision of what to keep and for how long is an exercise of your fiduciary duty. As an executor, you are legally bound to act in the best interest of the estate and its beneficiaries. This means taking reasonable and prudent steps to identify assets, pay legitimate debts, and defend the estate against invalid claims.
While no statute explicitly states “keep Medicare records for X years,” your obligations are spelled out in the New York Estates, Powers and Trusts Law (EPTL) and the Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act (SCPA). For example, under SCPA Article 22, you have a duty to provide a formal accounting to the court and beneficiaries. This accounting must detail every dollar that came in and every dollar that went out. The medical and Medicare records are the evidence that backs up your accounting of final expenses. Without them, your accounting could be challenged, delaying the closing of the estate and potentially exposing you to personal liability.
Stewardship. It’s about more than just managing money; it’s about managing information with intention and care. These records are part of your loved one’s story, but for an executor, they are also the tools you need to do your job correctly and protect the legacy they left behind.
If you are serving as an executor and are faced with a room full of documents, it can be difficult to know where to begin. Before you dispose of any records, our firm guides executors in developing a clear plan for identifying what is critical for the estate’s administration and what can be safely discarded. You can schedule an executor consultation to review your duties and establish a sound record-keeping strategy.
