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Chapter: 1600 Assets Program: MSSI, SFP 3

individual. This policy applies to checking accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposit and other jointly owned financial accounts. 1640.0302.02 Joint Ownership of Bank Accounts (MSSI, SFP) For SSI-Related coverage groups, if two or more Medicaid recipients or applicants hold a joint account, you must divide the funds equally among them.

For additional information, see rebuttal of ownership policy. See Chapter 1800 for how to count interest earned from the account. 1640.0302.04 Proof Needed to Rebut Ownership (MSSI, SFP) When an individual has unrestricted access to the funds in a joint account but does not consider himself an owner of part or all of the account funds, you must advise the individual that:

1. the funds are presumed to be his; and 2. he may rebut the presumption of ownership by presenting proof the funds belong to someone else.

To rebut the presumption of ownership, the individual must provide the following information:

First, the individual must provide a written statement and corroborating evidence from the financial institution(s) and other sources to substantiate:

1. any claims about ownership of the funds or interest from the funds; 2. the reasons for establishing the joint account; 3. whose funds were deposited into the account; 4. who made withdrawals from the account; and 5. information on how withdrawals were spent.

Second, the individual must provide a written statement from the joint owner(s) explaining their understanding of the ownership of the account(s); that is, claims of ownership, why the account was set up, who deposited funds, withdrew funds and used the account.

When an individual is a co-owner of an account with someone who is incompetent or a minor, the corroborating co-owner statement is not necessary. You must obtain a corroborating statement from a third party who has knowledge of the circumstances.

If there is no third party or the individual is unable to provide all bank verification, you must make a rebuttal determination based on the evidence submitted. Enter an explanation on CLRC why no written corroborating statement was obtained from the joint owner.

To successfully rebut ownership of a joint account, the evidence must clearly support that the individual is not a joint owner of the funds. 1640.0302.05 Evaluating Evidence for Rebuttal (MSSI, SFP) When all proof (per 1640.0302.03) is received, you must evaluate the evidence to determine if it supports the individual's claim that someone other than the individual owns the asset. The evidence must clearly corroborate that the funds deposited to the account did not belong to the individual and were not used to meet his needs.

If the rebuttal evidence proves that the account funds (all or partially) were deposited, withdrawn and used by the other joint owner(s) only, the individual has successfully proven that he does not own (all or part of) the funds.