602-2 A. DEFINITION AND TYPES OF RESOURCES
Resources must be verified when questionable. See MS 601-4 for verification procedures. Sources of verification are described in the Administrative Procedures Manual. The following describes the definition of resources for purposes of the Food Stamp Program.
Liquid resources
are those that can be readily converted to cash. Examples
of liquid resources include: cash on hand, uncashed checks, money in a
checking/savings account, money in a credit union, U.S. savings bonds,
lump-sum payments, stocks and bonds, and monies held by third parties.
Refer to MS 602-2B for
a list of exempt resources.
The net value of liquid resources is the total amount of cash or liquid resources the household has.
Non-liquid resources
are those that cannot be readily converted to cash. Examples
of non-liquid resources are real property such as houses, buildings and
land, and personal property such as cars, trucks, boats, snow machines,
planes, travel trailers, campers, business inventory, and livestock. Refer
to MS 602-2B for a list of exempt resources.
Calculate the
equity value of non-liquid resources as follows:
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Step 1: |
Determine the fair market value. The fair market value is how much the household could reasonably expect to receive for the property if it were sold.
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Step 2: |
Subtract from the fair market value the amount the household owes on the property. The remainder is the equity value of the resource. Non-liquid resources with an equity value of $1500 or less are excluded. Refer to MS 602-2B(27). |
3. Determining Resource Eligibility
a. Applicant Households:
Interview
held during the month the application is filed - The total value
of all household resources on the date of the interview is used to determine
the eligibility for that household. If the household's
total countable resources exceed the resource limit, the household is
ineligible and the application is denied. The household
can reapply anytime.
Interview held during the month following the month the application is filed - The total value of all household resources on the date of the interview is used to determine eligibility for both the month of application and the following month. If household resources exceed the limit on the date of the interview, the household is ineligible for both the month of application and the following month.
b. Participant Ongoing Households:
For prospective eligibility determinations, the value of the resources anticipated to be held by the household on the first day of the issuance month will be used to determine ongoing eligibility. Countable resources are considered held by the household until such time as they are spent, sold, or otherwise disposed of and the household no longer has interest or ownership in the resource.
When any money considered an exempt resource is commingled with a countable resource, the exempt portion is disregarded for six months from the date funds were commingled. After the six months the entire amount is counted toward the resource limit.
If only excluded money is in an interest bearing account, the interest earned does not constitute commingling with the excluded money. The interest, which must be counted as unearned income, is identifiable from the excluded funds through the account history of deposits.
Exempt resources that are kept separate and identifiable from other countable resources retain their exempt status indefinitely.
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