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Page 8 of 40 § 10:71-4.10 Transfer of assets 2. If the addition of another name to the ownership of an asset restricts the individual's access, right to sell or otherwise dispose of the asset (for example, the addition of another name requires that the new co-owner(s) agree to the sale or disposal of the asset where no such agreement was necessary before), the addition of the name shall constitute a transfer of assets. The transfer shall be considered to have occurred on the date that the additional name was added to the account. In the case of real property for the purpose of this chapter, if another name is added to a deed, the transfer shall be considered to have occurred the date the new deed is recorded. 3. N.J.A.C. 10:71-4.1 shall apply to determine what portion of a jointly owned resource is presumed to belong to the individual. Any portion belonging to the individual that is withdrawn by another owner shall be considered a transfer of assets. If the individual can satisfactorily establish that the withdrawn funds were, in fact, the sole property of, and were contributed to the account by the other owner, and thus never belonged to the individual, the withdrawal of those funds shall not result in the imposition of an asset transfer penalty. (p) Annuity provisions shall be as follows: 1. Any annuity purchase in which the entity issuing the annuity is not a commercial financial institution shall be considered to be a transfer of an asset in order to qualify for Medicaid benefits, regardless of the terms of the annuity payout. The entire amount transferred into such an annuity shall be the amount considered in determining eligibility. 2. Any commercial annuity purchased which is not actuarially sound, based on the life expectancy of the individual (as set forth in life expectancy tables published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) or term certain (the length of payout is specified and payment does not terminate upon the death of the annuitant) shall be considered to be a transfer of an asset in order to qualify for Medicaid benefits. In the event that an annuity is not actuarially sound at the time of purchase, the amount that shall be considered to have been transferred at less than fair market value shall be that proportion of the annuity purchase price which is not actuarially sound. This shall be the same proportion as the amount by which the pay-out period exceeds the life expectancy of the individual at the time of the annuity purchase. (Life expectancy divided by the pay-out period of the annuity multiplied by the purchase amount of the annuity is subtracted from the total amount of the annuity to determine the uncompensated value.) (q) Upon imposition of a period of ineligibility for long-term care level services because of an asset transfer, the county social services agency shall notify the applicant/beneficiary of his or her right to request an undue hardship exception. An applicant/beneficiary may apply for an exception to the transfer of asset penalty if he or she can show that the penalty will cause an undue hardship to him- or herself. The applicant/benefi-ciary shall provide sufficient documentation to support the request for an undue hardship waiver to the county social services agency within 20 days of notification of the transfer penalty. Within 30 days of receipt of such documentation, the CSSA shall issue notice to the applicant/beneficiary of its determination. 1. For the purposes of this chapter, undue hardship shall be considered to exist when: i. The application of the transfer of assets provisions would deprive the applicant/beneficiary of medical care such that his or her health or his or her life would be endangered. Undue hardship may also exist when application of the transfer of assets provisions would deprive the individual of food, clothing, shelter, or other necessities of life; and ii. The applicant/beneficiary can irrefutably demonstrate the transferred assets are beyond his or her control and that the assets cannot be recovered. The applicant/beneficiary shall demonstrate that he or she made good faith efforts, including exhaustion of remedies available at law or in equity, to recover the assets transferred. 2. Undue hardship shall not exist when the application of a transfer penalty merely causes the applicant/beneficiary an inconvenience or restricts his or her lifestyle.