North Dakota Administrative Code › Title 75 - Department of Human Services › Article 75-02 - Economic Assistance › Chapter 75-02-01.2 - Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program › Section 75-02-01.2-21 - Asset considerations

Current through Supplement No. 393, July, 2024
1.
a. All assets that are actually available
				must be considered. Assets are actually available when at the disposal of a
				member of the household; when a member of the household has a legal interest in
				a liquidated sum and has the legal ability to make the sum available for
				support or maintenance; or when a member of the household has the lawful power
				to make the asset available or to cause the asset to be made available. A
				determination that an asset is deemed available is a determination that the
				asset is actually available.
b.
				Assets must be reasonably evaluated.
c. All assets owned individually or jointly
				by members of a household are deemed available to the household.
d. Assets owned jointly by a member of the
				household and an individual who is a member of a separate household, but has a
				legal obligation to support a member of the household, are presumed available
				to the household unless the applicant can show that the assets are in fact not
				available.
e. If the household can
				demonstrate that only a portion of an asset is available, only that portion may
				be considered.
f. An asset is not
				available if it cannot be practically subdivided or sold.
g. A stepparent's assets, whether owned
				exclusively by the stepparent or jointly with the parent, are deemed available
				in their entirety to the parent. Because the temporary assistance for needy
				families filing unit must include the parent, if technically eligible, the
				equity value of all assets, including the stepparent's assets, must fall within
				program asset limitations or the unit is ineligible.
h. An asset may be temporarily unavailable
				while the household is taking reasonable measures to overcome a legal
				impediment.
i. Assets ordinarily
				available to the household may be rendered temporarily unavailable to members
				of such a unit who are being served by shelters for abused individuals while
				the legal ramifications of the circumstances that led to the need for such
				services are explored.
j. As in all
				instances in which there is a question of ownership, the household must be
				given the opportunity to present evidence in rebuttal of the presumption that a
				joint account is an available asset. A successful rebuttal may result in a
				finding that the funds in the joint account are in fact not owned by the
				household. For example, when the funds are clearly available to the family only
				in the event of the coowner's death, access is restricted and the funds are
				therefore not an asset. The funds are likewise not an asset to the family if
				withdrawals from the account are possible only with the surrendering of the
				passbook, which is not accessible to the applicant or recipient, or with dual
				signatures and the coowner may not sign.
k. An asset may be sold or exchanged for
				another asset. An asset acquired in an exchange or with the proceeds from a
				sale continues to be treated as an asset subject to the asset limits,
				exemptions, and exclusions applicable to the type of asset acquired. This
				subdivision does not supersede other provisions of this chapter which describe
				or require specific treatment of assets, or which describe specific
				circumstances that require a particular treatment of assets.