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DEPARTMENT FOR AGING AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES AUXILIARY GRANT PROGRAM NON-SSI INCOME SOURCES 07/19 CHAPTER I, PAGE 44

36. Income Tax Refunds Not Income Any amount refunded on income taxes already paid is not income. Income tax refunds are not income, even if the income from which the tax was withheld was received in a period prior to application for AG benefits. 36.1. Verification Verification is not required.

37. Inheritances Unearned Income An inheritance is cash, a right, or non-cash items received as the result of someone's death. An inheritance is a death benefit. Until an item or right has a value (i.e., can be used to meet the heir's need for food, clothing, or shelter), it is neither income nor a resource. The inheritance is income in the first month it has a value and can be used to meet the individual’s needs. 37.1. Inheritance Already A Resource An inheritance is not income to an individual if the inheritance is something which was considered that individual's resource as a member of an eligible couple immediately before the death. Note: The proceeds of a life insurance policy are not a resource before death. Even though a life insurance policy may have been a resource in the past (i.e., the cash surrender value was a resource), at the time of the insured's death that particular resource ceases to exist. The insurance proceeds received as a result of the death are not a converted resource but are income. The proceeds represent the death benefit payable not a return of the cash surrender value. 37.2. Income Treatment At the point it is determined the inheritance is income to the individual, use the Death Benefits guidelines in Chapter I – 20 to determine the amount of countable income.