Although certain assets are exempt, verify their existence, and document them in the case record.
Exempt assets can be combined with nonexempt assets, as long as the caseworker documents their source and amount in the case record. The exempt portion of a combined asset remains exempt. The amount of the combined asset that is greater than the exempt asset is nonexempt, and is applied to the asset limit. If the total combined assets fall below the amount of the exempted assets, only the lowest balance remains exempt.
If withdrawals are made from an account that includes both exempt and nonexempt assets, consider that the monies were withdrawn from the nonexempt assets first.
Example 1: Ms. J, a MANG client, received a $1600 lump sum SSI payment before her latest REDE. Ms. J deposited the payment into an existing account with a balance of $300. The total balance of the account was then $1900. Several months later, Ms. J withdraws $500 from the account, leaving $1400 in the account. The exempt funds in the account become $1400 because the balance in the account fell below the SSI lump sum payment. Two months later Ms. J deposits $300 from the sale of her car. The exempt portion remains at $1400.
Example 2: On 01/01/2023, Mr. S's bank account balance was $17,000. On 01/02/2023, Mr. S deposited a $500 circuit breaker payment into the bank account. At no point prior to the next REDE did the bank account fall below $17,500. The $500 payment is exempt at the REDE. The remaining $17,000 balance is applied to the resource limit.
Example 3: Ms. A is an AABD client. A worker was processing the case in July. On 06/27 Ms. A's bank account balance was $1,500. On 07/14 Ms. A received and deposited a $2,000 SSI lump sum payment into the bank account. The total amount of resources not counted at the REDE is $3,500 (the $2,000 SSI payment is exempt as a resource because it is counted as income the month it's received and a resource the month after. The $1,500 is applied against the resource limit of $17,500).
If the total amount of assets is greater than the amount of the exempt asset, deduct the amount of the exempt asset from the combined monies to determine the total amount of nonexempt assets.
