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State of Wisconsin |
HISTORY |
The policy on this page is from a previous version of the handbook.
4.4.1.2 Jointly Owned by Different Food Units
4.4.1.3 Jointly Owned by Same Food Unit
4.4.1.6.1 Period of Ineligibility
CFR 273.8
Non EBD Households
Assets are not included as part of the FoodShare eligibility determination and are not required to be verified since all FoodShare applicants and members are authorized to receive a TANF-funded service. Most FoodShare applicants and members are categorically eligible for FoodShare (4.2.1). The amount of available liquid assets must be reported at the point of initial application to determine eligibility for priority service and expedited issuance.
EBD Households
Food units that include an elderly, blind or disabled member with gross income over 200% of the FPL must be tested for FoodShare using the regular Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) rules. Under the regular SNAP rules, these food units have no gross income limit, but must have net income that does not exceed 100% FPL and countable assets that do not exceed the asset limit of $3,500.
The remainder of this section applies only to food units with an EBD member whose gross income exceeds 200% FPL.
Equity value
Count the equity value of countable assets. Equity value is the fair market value (FMV) minus any encumbrances against the asset. Disregard the equity value of exempt assets.
Separate and Mixed Assets
Disregard exempt assets kept in a separate account, or in an account with other exempt assets.
If an asset is in an account mixed with countable assets, disregard the exempt assets for one of these periods:
For six months from the date the exempt asset was mixed with the countable assets.
If an exempt asset is money that has been prorated as income, exempt it only for the period over which it has been prorated. After that period expires, count the remaining asset. Self-employment, or farm income are examples of prorated income.
Jointly Owned Accounts
A joint account is:
A deposit of funds (savings, checking, share and NOW accounts, certificates of deposit, and similar arrangements), made with,
A financial institution (such as a bank, savings and loan, credit union, or insurance company), where,
The holders have equal access to the funds.
Jointly held accounts in a state-regulated financial institution are accessible to all holders of the account. The food unit has access to the joint account, with the exceptions below.
Do not assume that a jointly held account is accessible if it is:
Established for business, charitable, or civic purposes.
A trust or restricted account. The person named as holder has no or limited access to the funds.
A special purpose account. A special purpose account has at least one holder acting as the power of attorney, guardian, or conservator for another account holder(s).
Unless excepted below, deem the full value of assets owned jointly by separate food units to each food unit.
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Example 1: An asset worth $600 is owned by three persons in the same household. Two are in the same food unit and the third is in another unit. Deem the asset's full value of $600 to each food unit. In the food unit with two owners, deem $300 to each owner. |
If a food unit jointly owns an asset. Do not count the asset’s full value if the asset is not available to the food unit. Count only the portion of the asset’s value that is available to the food unit.
A jointly owned asset is unavailable to a food unit when:
It cannot practically be subdivided; and,
The food unit's access to its value depends on the willingness of a joint owner who refuses access.
When the joint owners of an asset are in the same food unit, deem each an equal share of the asset's total value. This avoids counting more than the asset's actual value.
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Example 2: Three food unit members own an asset valued at $600. Assigning full value to each holder would give the food unit $1,800 (3 x $600). Only $600 is actually available. To avoid this, give each food unit member an equal share or $200. The food unit's total is now the asset's actual $600 value.
If only two food unit members are FoodShare assistance group members, each contributes $200 to the group's assets. This is a total contribution of $400 from group members. Determine why the other food unit member is not in the FoodShare assistance group. This will determine if the $200, or a portion of it, is deemed to the group. |
Disregard the following assets:
Unavailable Assets
Unavailable assets are:
Assets inaccessible to the food unit because they are unknown to the food unit. The assets become available assets the day the food unit becomes aware of them.
Countable assets that the owner cannot make immediate use of.
Assets that a food unit is unable to sell for any significant return because the food unit’s interest is relatively slight or because the cost of selling the food unit’s interest would be relatively great.
Funds received through crowdfunding accounts (such as GoFundMe, Kickstarter, and Indiegogo) that are not accessible to the food unit at the time of interview.
Significant return means any return, after estimating costs of sale or disposition and taking into account the ownership interest of the food unit, the local agency determines are more than $1,500. This does not apply to financial instruments such as stocks, bonds, and negotiable financial instruments.
Examples of unavailable assets are:
Some irrevocable trust funds.
Property and goods in probate.
Security deposits for rental property or utilities.
Some gifts.
Some items in a collection.
Non-liquid assets that have a lien on them as security for a loan. The purpose of the loan must be to produce income. It cannot be for the purchase of the asset against which the lien is in effect.
The lien agreement must prohibit selling the asset until the lien is satisfied. Non-liquid assets include land, crops, buildings, timber, farm equipment, and machinery.
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Example 3: A farmer borrows from a bank to buy a new dairy bulk tank by allowing a lien on his corn crop. The value of the corn crop is unavailable until the lien is removed by satisfying the loan. |
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Example 4: Sue Jones has an IRA with a $4,500 balance. She provides verification that it will take 30 days to close the account, and because of penalties and taxes, the amount she will receive is $3,150. The asset is not counted at application because it is not immediately available. However, after the 30 days required to close the account, $3,150 is an available asset. The asset will be considered available regardless of whether or not Sue chooses to withdraw the funds. |
Self-Employment or Business Assets
Self-employment or business assets are generally income-producing property. Exclude assets directly related and essential to producing goods or services.
Real Property
Disregard all real property, regardless of whether it is homestead property or not. A home is any dwelling place intended for human habitation. All real property including homestead property is excluded as an asset.
Vehicles
Disregard all vehicles.
Land Contracts
Disregard land and installment contracts for land or a building if the contract produces income consistent with its fair market value (FMV).
Installment Contracts
Disregard the value of property sold under an installment contract or held as security in exchange for a purchase price consistent with its FMV. This includes the sale of any property or building, if the terms of the installment contract provide a purchase price consistent with the property's FMV.
Disaster Payments
Disregard any governmental payment designated to restore a home damaged in a disaster. Apply this exemption if the food unit is subject to a legal sanction if the funds are not used as intended.
Disregard any payments to farmers for a farm emergency caused by a natural disaster. The USDA determines if a farm emergency exists.
Personal Goods & Property
Disregard household goods and personal effects, such as home appliances, furniture, and clothes.
Burial Plot
Disregard one burial plot for each food unit member.
Pre-Paid Funeral Agreements
Disregard the value of one bona fide pre-paid funeral agreement per food unit member.
Retirement Accounts
Exclude the following:
401 (Traditional Defined-Benefit Plan).
401(a) plans: Employer sponsored retirement plans, including Cash Balance Plans, Employee Stock Ownership Plans, Money Purchase Pension Plans, Keogh Plans, and Profit Sharing Plans.
401(k) plans: Generally a cash-or-deferred arrangement, including Simple 401(k) plans.
403(a): Employee Retirement Annuities.
403(b): Tax-sheltered annuities provided for employees of tax-exempt organizations and state and local educational organizations.
408: Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs).
408A: Roth IRAs and myRA.
408(p): Simple Retirement Account IRAs.
408(k): Simplified Employee Pension Plans.
457(b): Retirement plans for local governmental and certain non-governmental, tax-exempt employers.
501(c) (18): Exemption from tax on corporations that have trusts created before 6-25-1959 forming part of a plan providing benefit payments under a pension plan funded by employees.
Federal Employee Thrift Savings Plan.
Trust Funds
Count funds in a trust and any income produced by the trust. Disregard the funds only if all of these conditions exist:
The trust arrangement is not likely to end.
The trustee administering the funds is either:
A court, institution, corporation, or organization under neither the direction or ownership of any household member; or
Someone, not in the food unit, but appointed by a court with court imposed limits on his or her use of the trust's funds.
Trust investments made for the trust do not directly involve or assist any business or corporation under the control, direction, or influence of a food unit member.
The funds are held in irrevocable trust and are either established from:
The funds of someone not in the food unit, or
The food unit's funds, if the trustee uses the fund solely for investments on behalf of the trust or to pay educational or medical expenses for anyone named by the food unit creating the trust.
Money Prorated as Income
A food unit member may have deposited money into an account from self-employment or farming. Prorate this money as income.
Disregard money prorated as income as an asset when it is being counted as income. When it is no longer prorated as income, count it as an asset.
Tools and Other Work Related Equipment
Disregard the value of tools or other equipment essential to the employment or self-employment of a food unit member. Examples of essential tools are those of a mechanic, plumber, or other tradesperson, or a farmer's machinery
Relocation Payments
Disregard payments from the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Properties Acquisition Act of 1970.
Nutrition Benefits
Disregard the value of assistance received from programs under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 and the National School Lunch Act. These include:
Special Milk Program
School Breakfast Program
Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC)
School Lunch Program
Summer Food Service Program for Children
Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP)
Child and Adult Care Food Program
Energy Assistance Program
Disregard all payments provided by the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) or Wisconsin Home Energy Assistance Program (WHEAP).
Disregard payments from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) settling the Underwood v. Harris judgment against HUD (Civil No. 76-0469, DDC).
These payments are for retroactive tax and utility cost subsidies. Disregard them for the month in which the payment is received and the following month. Thereafter, count any remaining amount as an asset.
Wartime Relocation of Civilians
Disregard payments under PL 100-383 to U.S. citizens of Japanese ancestry and permanent resident Japanese immigrants or their survivors and Aleut residents of the Pribilof Islands and the Aleutian Islands West of Unimak Island.
Alaskan Native Claims
Disregard payments including cash, stock, partnership interest, land, interest in land, and other benefits from the Alaskan Native Claims Settlement Act (PL 92-203).
Tribal/ Native American Payments
Disregard payments to individual tribal members of the following tribes and/or from the following federal settlements:
Disregard as assets any lump sum or periodic payments received under the Cobell v. Salazar Class Action Trust Case during the one-year period beginning on the date of receipt (PL 111-291).
Disregard up to $2,000 per calendar year held by an individual Native American that is derived from restricted land or land held in trust by the Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs (PL 103-66, 92-203, and 100-241).
Disregard the first $2,000 of individual shares for the following:
Native American Trust Funds
Disregard up to $2,000 per calendar year held by an individual Native American that is derived from restricted land or land held in trust by the Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
Disregard any Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) payments received by participating food unit members for 12 continuous months from the month of receipt. If there is a break of one day or more, count the remaining EITC as an asset.
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Example 5: John, a FoodShare member, received a $1,000 EITC lump sum payment in January and deposited it in his savings account. On March 31, he is ineligible for benefits for failure to complete a renewal. On April 3, he reapplies for FoodShare and is found eligible. Count any remaining amount of the $1,000 EITC payment as an asset. |
IDA Program
Disregard total Individual Development Account (IDA) balances as assets if it is an account funded under TANF (Community Reinvestment) or the Assets for Independence Act (AFIA).
Wisconsin Sales Tax
The one-time rebate payment of Wisconsin sales taxes in January 2000 should be counted as an asset in the month of receipt.
Wisconsin Higher Education Bonds
Wisconsin Higher Education Bonds were sold by the state to the public as a way to save for a higher education. To determine their net value as an asset, subtract broker's fees from market value.
The bonds also may be sold back to the state within certain time restraints. If the bonds are sold back:
Before the maturity date, a portion of their value is withheld. The amount withheld equals the school's tuition and fees. Any excess goes to the person.
On or after the maturity date, the value is the total amount received.
The bonds may be sold on the secondary bond market at any time. Since they can be disposed of on the market with no time limit, they are an available asset. Net value = market value - broker's fees. Verify the amounts through a broker.
529 (a) and Coverdell 530 Education Accounts
Per section 5(g)(8)(A) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, disregard the value of any funds in a qualified tuition program described in Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Service Code of 1986 or the Coverdell Education Savings Account under Section 530 of that code.
Agent Orange Settlement Fund
Disregard payments received from the Agent Orange Settlement Fund or any other fund established in settling "In Re Agent Orange product liability Settlement Fund litigation, M.D.L. No. 381 (E.D.N.Y.)" as assets. Continue to disregard the payments for as long as they are identified separately. Apply this disregard retroactively to 1-1-89.
Radiation Exposure Compensation Act
Disregard payments from any program under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (PL 101-426) paid to compensate injury or death resulting from exposure to radiation from nuclear testing ($50,000) and uranium mining ($100,000). When the affected person is deceased, payments are made to the surviving spouse, children, parents, or grandparents of the deceased. The federal DOJ makes the payments. Continue to disregard the payments for as long as they are identified separately. Apply this disregard retroactively to 10-15-90.
Life Insurance
Disregard the cash value of any life insurance policies.
Crime Act of 1984
Disregard payments to crime victims under the Crime Act of 1984.
Veteran's Administration Disability Pension Payments
Disregard the annual adjustment in a VA disability pension as an asset in the month the food unit receives it. The VA usually makes this benefit adjustment in October.
SSI PASS Accounts
Disregard income of an SSI recipient necessary to fulfill a Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS) as an asset regardless of the source. This income may be spent in accordance with an approved PASS or deposited into a PASS account.
The SSA must approve the individual's PASS in writing, identifying the amount of income that shall be set aside each month to fulfill the PASS.
Victims of Nazi Persecution
Disregard as an asset payments under PL 103-286 to victims of Nazi persecution.
Student Financial Aid
Disregard student financial aid as an asset as long as the student is enrolled in an institution of higher education. If the student graduates or dis-enrolls from school, count any remaining available student financial aid as an asset.
Shelters for Victims of Domestic Violence
When determining eligibility for a food unit living in a shelter for victims of domestic violence, disregard assets that are jointly owned with someone in its former food unit if agreement of the joint owner still living in the former food unit is needed to access the asset.
Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Account
Per section 103(a) of the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014, consistent with Section 5(d)(10) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, ABLE accounts are considered disregarded assets. An ABLE account is a tax-favored saving account established to provide secure funding for disability-related expenses on behalf of designated beneficiaries.
Income Tax, Refund, Rebate, or Credit
For food units that include an Elderly, Blind, or Disabled member that is over 200% FPL and subject to regular FoodShare rules, disregard any remaining portion of a federal income tax refund, rebate, or credit for 12 months following the month the refund is received.
Stocks, Bonds, and Other Investments
Count the current cash value of any available investment that includes, but is not limited to: stocks, bonds, or mutual funds. Available means that the asset could be cashed in at any time. Investments that are part of retirement plans are generally not available until someone is of retirement age.
To calculate the net value of investments such as stocks, bonds, or mutual funds, verify the current value(s) as of closing of the market on the day before you do the calculation. For individual stocks or bonds, multiply the value per share times the number of shares. Deduct any losses or penalties charged as a result of a potential sale or early withdrawal.
Loans
Count any loan to a food unit member as an asset, even if the food unit member anticipates spending it in the same month.
Loan Repayments
Count the principal of a loan repayment to a food unit member from a non-food unit member as an asset
Savings and Checking Accounts
Count money deposited in a savings or checking account. Disregard the value of outstanding (un-cleared) checks.
Cash
Count any cash on hand as an asset.
U.S. Savings Bonds
Count the cash value of a U.S. Savings Bond unless it is unavailable. A bond is unavailable only if the food unit proves it tried to cash the bond and was refused.
Nonrecurring Lump Sum
Count nonrecurring lump sums beginning with the month of receipt.
Interest Income
Count interest, dividend, and royalty income as an asset if not received directly.
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Example 6: Mary has a certificate of deposit (CD). She receives an interest check every time the CD matures. The interest is income. If she leaves the interest to accumulate, count it as an asset. |
The FoodShare applicant or food unit is not eligible if a member has given away or transferred assets in excess of the asset limit that would have been counted in the eligibility determination:
Within three months before the date of application or while receiving FoodShare, and
The reason for transfer was to become or remain eligible for FoodShare.
The following asset transfers are not divestments:
Assets that would have been disregarded.
Assets sold or traded at or near their fair market value.
Assets transferred between members of the same food unit.
Assets given away for reasons other than to qualify for or keep FoodShare eligibility. It is the food unit’s responsibility to prove the reason for the transfer was other than to create or continue eligibility.
An inheritance is disclaimed under s. 853.40, Wis. Stats. A disclaimer occurs when a beneficiary renounces any claim to an inheritance. A disclaimer is not a divestment as the person disclaiming never gains ownership of the disclaimed asset. The disclaimer must be filed in the probate court having jurisdiction. It is also filed in the office of the register of deeds in the county in which any real estate is located.
Add the value of the divested assets to other countable asset values. Determine how much this total exceeds the FoodShare assistance group's asset limit. Use the chart in 8.1.4 Disqualification for Divestment to determine the ineligibility period.
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Example 7: An EBD food unit of one with $1,250 in savings transferred the ownership of non-homestead property worth $5,650 to a person not in the same FoodShare food unit. As calculated: $5,650 = value of property = countable divested value +1,250 = food unit's existing assets -------- $6,900 = total of food unit's assets and divested value - 3,500 = food unit's asset limit -------- $ 3,400 = divested value in excess of food unit's asset limit is used to calculate the FoodShare disqualification period. Disqualify the food unit for nine months. |
The period of ineligibility begins at either:
The month of application, or
The first allotment issued after the notice of adverse action period has expired in an ongoing FoodShare case, unless a fair hearing and continuation of benefits is requested.
This page last updated in Release Number: 18-01
Release Date: 01/08/2018
Effective Date: 01/08/2018
Notice: The content within this manual is the sole responsibility of the State of Wisconsin's Department of Health Services (DHS). This site will link to sites outside of DHS where appropriate. DHS is in no way responsible for the content of sites outside of DHS.
Publication Number: P-16001