Policy History for 4.5.2 AVAILABILITY

Release 04-03  

An asset is available when:
 

  1. It can be sold, transferred, or disposed of by the owner or the owner’s representative, and
     

  2. The owner has a legal right to the money obtained from sale of the asset, and
     

  3. The owner has the legal ability to make the money available for support and maintenance.
     

Consider an asset as unavailable if:
 

  1. The client lacks the ability to provide legal access to the assets, and

  2. No one else can access the assets, and

  3. A process has been started to get legal access to the assets.

 

An asset is unavailable when the owner or owner’s representative documents that the asset will not be available for 30 days or more.

 

Example: Sylvia has life insurance that she cannot convert to cash within 30 days.  She has a letter from the insurance company stating when she will receive the money.  It becomes available the day she receives the money. Schedule an eligibility review, for no later than the 60th day after the date of application.

 

4.5.2.1 Real Property

Nonexempt real property (4.5.8) is unavailable when:
 

  1. The person who owns the property lists it for sale with a realtor.  See 4.5.9.

  2. A joint owner who is outside the fiscal test group refuses to sell the property.

 

When the client is a co-owner of the property with someone outside the fiscal group, you must determine whether s/he is a joint owner or an owner-in-common.  

 

Joint ownership has a right of survivorship.  That is, upon the death of one joint owner, the other inherits the share of the deceased.  A joint owner's share may not be sold without forcing the sale of the entire property.

 

Ownership-in-common has no right of survivorship.  An owner-in-common may bequeath his/her share of the property to anyone s/he chooses.  S/he may also sell his/her share during his/her lifetime.

 

If an institutionalized person owns property that’s unavailable because it's listed for sale, s/he can use some of her income Income is anything you receive in cash or in kind that you can use to meet your needs for food, clothing, and shelter. to maintain the property until it is sold.  Allow minimal heat and electricity costs so as to avoid physical damage to the property while it is waiting to be sold.  Also allow a minimum amount of property insurance coverage.  But do not allow taxes and mortgage payments; they must be paid from the proceeds of the sale.

 

Allow the maintenance costs for as long as the person is making a good faith effort to sell the property, but in no case for longer than six months.

 

This page last updated in Release Number : 02-01

Release Date: 01-01-02

Effective Date: 01-01-02