Joint Accounts 415-25-10-15

(Revised 12/1/03 ML #2895)

View Archives

 

 

Assets owned jointly by separate households shall be considered available in their entirety to each household, unless it can be demonstrated by the applicant household that such assets are inaccessible to the household or that the funds are in fact the sole property of only one owner who has the generally recognized authority to direct disbursement. If the household can demonstrate that it has access to only a portion of the asset, only that portion shall be counted toward the household's asset limitation. The asset shall be considered totally inaccessible to the household if it cannot be practically subdivided and the household's access to the value of the asset is dependent on the agreement of a joint owner who refuses to comply.  A "joint account" is one owned by two or more individuals as "joint tenants with right of survivorship" and may be designated "JTWRS."  An individual's name may appear on an account signature card without causing that account to be a "joint account."  If the client's name appears on a signature card, but no member of the household has an ownership interest in that account, funds in the account are not available as income or asset.