804 Transfer of Resources

At the time of application, households shall be asked to provide information regarding any liquid resources which any household member (or ineligible alien or disqualified person whose resources are being considered available to the household) had transferred within the 3-month period immediately preceding the date of application. Households which have transferred liquid resources knowingly for the purpose of qualifying or attempting to qualify for food assistance benefits shall be disqualified from participation in the program for up to 1 year from the date of the discovery of the transfer. This disqualification period shall be applied if the resources are transferred knowingly in the 3-month period prior to application, or the resources are knowingly transferred after the household is determined eligible for benefits (assets which the household acquires after being certified which are then transferred in order to prevent the household from exceeding the maximum resource limit). For those households that have been previously determined ineligible because of lottery and gambling winnings in the amount of $4500 or more, the transfer or resources to become eligible for food assistance benefits must be discussed the next time the household applies for food assistance benefits. If these households are found to have transferred resources within the 3-month period immediately preceding the date of application to become eligible for food assistance benefits, the household must be disqualified from receiving food assistance benefits. TRANSFER OF RESOURCES NOT AFFECTING ELIGIBILITY In the following situations of the transfer of resources disqualification policy will not apply: 1. Resources which would not otherwise affect eligibility, for example, resources consisting of money that, when added to other nonexempt household liquid resources, totaled less at the time of the transfer than the allowable resource limits. 2. Resources which are sold or traded at, or near, fair market value 3. Resources which are transferred between members of the same household (including ineligible aliens or disqualified persons whose resources are being considered available to the household). 4. Resources which are transferred for reasons other than qualifying or attempting to qualify for food assistance benefits, for example, a parent placing funds into an educational trust fund which has been determined to be exempt from resources. DISQUALIFYING THE HOUSEHOLD In the event the county department establishes that a household knowingly transferred resources for the purpose of qualifying or attempting to qualify for food assistance, the county department shall take the following actions: 1. For an applicant household, the household shall be sent a Notice of Denial explaining the reason for and length of the disqualification. The period of disqualification shall begin in the month of application. 2. For a participating household when the transfer is discovered, the household shall be sent a Notice of Adverse Action explaining the reason for and length of the disqualification. The period of disqualification shall be effective with the first allotment issued after the Notice of Adverse Action period has expired, unless the household has requested a fair hearing and continued benefits. DETERMINING THE DISQUALIFICATION PERIOD The length of the disqualification period shall be based on the amount by which non-exempt transferred resources, when added to other countable resources, exceeds the allowable resource limits. For example, if a one-person household with $1,750 in a bank transferred ownership of stock worth $1,000, $750 of that transfer would be considered because the first $250 of the stock’s value would have been applied toward the ($3,000) resource limit. The following chart shall be used to determine the period of disqualification: Amount in Excess of the Resource Limit Period of Disqualification 0 to $249 1 month $250 to $999 3 months $1,000 to $2,999 6 months $3,000 to $4,999 9 months $5,000 and up 12 months [1] Admin Letter # 7323 [2] Revised 1-14-10 [3] Admin Letter # 7323 [4] Revised 1-14-10