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d. Count any payments as unearned income. B. Countable Real Property The following are countable resources: 1. Property Contiguous to the Principal Place of Residence a. When the a/b or financially responsible person has no ownership interest in the principal place of residence but does have ownership interest in contiguous property, count the tax value of contiguous property in excess of $12,000. FOR EXAMPLE: An applicant lives in the home of his son. His son owns the house and lot. The applicant owns the lot next to his son. The applicant’s lot has a tax value of $30,000. Exclude up to $12,000 in tax value of the applicant’s lot. The remaining tax value, $18,000, is a countable asset unless otherwise excluded. Refer to VII.A. for exclusions. b. Property contiguous to the principal place of residence with a tax value of $12,000 or less is excluded. 2. Former Home site a. Count the former home site as a resource when it can no longer be excluded for reasons listed in A.1., above or cannot be excluded as income producing property. b. Transfer of home site or former home site Transfer of a home site or former home site, even after it is made income producing, may result in a sanction for transfer of assets if the a/b or a/b’s spouse is requesting or receiving assistance with institutional services or in-home health services and supplies after institutional care. Refer to MA­ 2240, Transfer of Assets. 3. Non-home site Property a. Count the value of non-home site real property owned solely by the a/b or financially responsible spouse or parent, unless it meets current use requirements in VII.A.5. above. Refer to MA-2260, Financial Eligibility Regulations – PLA, for procedures to deem resources from a parent to a child a/b. b. If a single owner dies without leaving a will, property may be unavailable to a spouse until released by the clerk of court. See item IV.C.1. 4. Remainder Interest in Real Property 41