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Department
of Human Services Families
First Online Policy Manual Resources |
Revised: |
17.6 |
JOINTLY OWNED RESOURCES |
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If the Families First AU reports a jointly
owned resource (real or personal property that has more than one owner
listed), the individual’s pro rata share of any countable resource is applied
to the AU’s resource limit. If the
individual can demonstrate that it has access to less than a pro rata share,
only the portion to which the individual has access will be counted toward
the AU’s resource level. If a jointly owned resource cannot be practically subdivided, and
access to the AU’s share of the resource is dependent on the agreement of the
joint owner, and the joint owner who is not an AU member refuses to comply so
that the AU member can obtain his/her share of the resource, then the
resource is considered inaccessible to the AU. The fact that an AU member’s name appears on a jointly named asset
with that of a non-AU member does not conclusively mean that the resource is
“jointly owned.” The AU member must be
given the opportunity to prove that he/she does not, in fact, have any
ownership rights to the resource. The
key to determining ownership is in the written language or oral understanding
surrounding the creation of the joint bank account or other jointly named
asset. Consider the source of the
funds or asset and for whom the use and benefit of the funds/asset are
intended and used. This may occur, for
example, where an AU member’s name is listed on a joint checking account in
which all of the funds belong to an elderly or disabled relative so that the
AU member can assist the relative with his/her banking transactions, and the
AU member does not use any of the funds for his/her own personal use. The burden of proof that he/she has no
ownership in the funds is on the AU member. |
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