In re the Estate of Swind

OPINION OF THE COURT

Bernard L. Reagan, J.

The executor of the estate, Ralph J. Balducci, has petitioned this court for judicial settlement of his accounts. To be presently determined in connection therewith is the validity of a claim by the New York State Office of Mental Health which has been rejected by the executor. This presents purely a question of law since the parties are in agreement as to the facts.

Helen E. Swind, the decedent, was an inpatient at Hutchings Psychiatric Center (Hutchings) in Syracuse, New York, from August 21, 1979 to November 7, 1979. Although the established per diem…