1500.4.4 Jointly Owned Resources

Resources owned by two or more households, or resources showing more than one name are entirely available to each household.

Exception: Exclude jointly owned resources: the household verifies all or part are inaccessible; that cannot be subdivided, and the household cannot access or sell the resource unless the joint owner approves; or are jointly owned by: people living in a shelter for battered persons and someone living in the abuser’s household, and the resource is controlled by the person living in the abuser’s household.

Households may claim less than full ownership or even no ownership of jointly owned resources, such as a bank account. Verify the household’s claim. Based on the verification obtained, determine if the resource is: counted, partially excluded, or fully excluded.

Supervisor approval is required if a jointly owned resource is partially or fully excluded. The owners of the resource must sign a statement attesting to the fact that: the person’s name is on the asset solely for a specified reason, and the person owns none or less than the full resource amount.