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Chapter: 1600 Assets Program: TCA 17 1620.0000 Temporary Cash Assistance Each individual's assets must be considered to determine eligibility for public assistance. 1620.0100 ASSET DEFINITION (TCA) Assets, liquid or nonliquid, are assets or items of value that are owned (single or jointly) by an individual who has access to the cash value upon disposition.

Liquid assets are cash assets or assets that are payable in cash on demand. Nonliquid assets are assets that cannot be readily converted to cash.

Assets of each member of the standard filing unit must be determined. A determination of whether each asset should be included or excluded must be made. 1620.0200 ASSET LIMITS (TCA) The asset limit is the maximum amount of liquid and/or nonliquid assets that an assistance group can retain and remain eligible for public assistance.

The total countable assets of the Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA) standard filing unit (SFU) cannot exceed $2,000, with the exception of TCA deemed individuals. TCA deemed individuals’ assets are not considered when determining the eligibility of the assistance group. 1620.0206 Verification of Assets (TCA) Verification of all assets, except cash, is required when the total assets of the SFU are within $100 of the asset limit. The individual’s statement of the amount of cash is accepted. If it is clear from the individual’s statement that total assets exceed the limitation or if the individual is ineligible on another factor, assets need not be verified. 1620.0300 ASSET OWNERSHIP AND AVAILABILITY (TCA) Any individual who has the legal ability to dispose of an asset is considered the owner of the asset. The type of ownership (single or joint) of an asset determines to whom the asset is available and the value that is counted to the individual. 1620.0301 Joint Ownership (TCA) Joint ownership exists when the legal right to dispose of an asset is shared by more than one individual. 1620.0302.01 Joint Ownership of Bank Accounts (TCA) When an individual is a joint account holder who has unrestricted access to the funds in the account, you must presume the individual owns all of the funds in the account. This presumption is made regardless of the source of the funds.

If the individual alleges the funds in the account belong to someone else, you must allow the individual to submit evidence to challenge this presumption. If the challenge is successful, do not count the funds in the account as an asset to the individual for any month. (If the individual never owned the funds, they were never his.) If the challenge to the presumption of ownership is not successful, you must consider the funds as an asset to the individual. This policy applies to checking accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposit and other jointly owned financial accounts.