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Chapter: 1600 Assets Program: TCA 30 U.S. Savings Bonds are usually registered in the name of the owner(s) shown on the front of the bond and may be redeemed by the owner by completing a form on the back of the bond.

If ownership of the bond is shared, each person’s share is equal. All owners must agree to liquidate the bond.

The value of the bond depends on the time elapsed from the date of issue. Do not use the table sometimes provided on the back of the bond to determine its value. The tables often do not reflect changes in interest rates. A bank must be contacted to determine the current value.

The face value of Series H bonds does not change. No further verification of value is necessary for that series; however, interest is paid rather than accrued on these bonds. 1620.0575.01 Trusts (TCA) A trust is a right of property held by one party for the benefit of another. The individual who holds the legal title to property for the benefit or use of another is the "trustee". The individual for whose benefit the trust is created is the "beneficiary".

The trust is not an asset to the individual acting as trustee unless he can use the funds for personal benefit. If the trustee can use the funds for personal benefit, the trust principal is a countable asset to the trustee.

If the individual, as beneficiary, has unrestricted access to the principal of the trust, the trust principal is counted as an asset to the individual.

Any income earned from the trust principal (for example, interest or dividends) is considered an asset if retained into the month following the month of receipt. 1620.0575.02 Determining Availability of Trusts (TCA) If the applicant/recipient presents a court order establishing a trust fund that could possibly be available for current use for a member of the SFU/AG, the individual (the individual or trustee/representative) is required to pursue all necessary steps to determine if the funds are, in fact, unavailable to meet their needs. This includes petitioning the court or whatever other steps are required.

The value of the trust fund will be excluded as an asset in the TCA determination for up to 90 days (from the date of interview/request) to allow time for the applicant/recipient to pursue such steps. The AG should be approved (assuming all other factors of eligibility are met) and a partial eligibility review set, using AWEC, for the month in which the 90th day falls. This is to check on the outcome of the petition.

Appropriate action must be taken by the eligibility specialist upon completion of the partial to check on the status of the petition. The action will depend on whether a final decision has been reached or the petition is still pending. The eligibility specialist will request verification of the status of the petition.

If the petitioning process is not complete, the eligibility specialist must determine why the process is incomplete and annotate running record comments (CLRC). If the process has not yet been initiated, the applicant/recipient must show good cause for failure to petition the court. Good cause decisions are made on a case-by-case basis by the eligibility specialist and the supervisor. Examples of reasons for good cause for not petitioning for a decision include:

1. the applicant/recipient applied for legal services and does not have access to a private attorney for this purpose; 2. current attorney is unavailable to handle the petition at the present time; or