Section 17-675-18 - Evaluating assets for food stamps(a) The assets of all members of a food stamp applicant household shall be considered as of the time of the application interview. The household shall be given an opportunity to update any changes in its assets at the time of the application interview. A determination that the household did not transfer assets to become eligible for food stamp shall be made. The updated information shall be used to determine whether the household's assets are below the maximum allowable asset retention limits. In the instance when the asset level at the time of application is above the maximum allowable level and the asset level at the time of interview is below the maximum level, and the dates of application and interview are in two different months, the household will be denied for the month of application and certified eligible for the following month.(b) The assets of all members of a food stamp recipient household are evaluated as of the first day of the corresponding issuance month.(c) The assets of the non-household members shall not be counted as available to the household.(d) The assets of excluded household member shall be counted as available to the remaining household members.(e) Assets owned jointly by separate households shall be considered available in their entirety to each household, unless the household can demonstrate that the assets are inaccessible to the household. If the household can demonstrate that it has access to only a portion of the assets, that portion of the assets shall be counted toward the household's personal reserve. The assets shall be considered inaccessible to the household if the assets cannot be practically subdivided and the household's access to the value of the assets is dependent on the agreement of the joint owner who refuses to comply. For the purpose of this provision, ineligible aliens or disqualified individuals residing with the household shall be considered household members.(f) The branch shall, in situations where the household has received a nonrecurring lump sum payment as specified in section 17-675-36(c), review the case file to determine if the amount received in addition to the amount of assets already listed in the case file will exceed the asset limit for the household. If the amount does not exceed the limit, the case file shall be documented with the information received. No further action shall be required. If the total amount exceeds the allowable asset limitation, the household shall be given an opportunity to update its entire asset statement. If the household declines to do so or the amount of assets still exceeds the limit, the branch shall take action to terminate the household's certification.(g) Households who are categorically eligible as defined in section 17-663-143 shall be considered to have satisfied the resource eligibility criteria for the food stamp program. The assets of any household member who receives general assistance (GA) benefits, supplemental security income (SSI) benefits under Title XVI of the Social Security Act, or benefits under Part A of Title IV of the Social Security Act (AFDC benefits) shall not be considered when determining the household's total assets. Jointly owned assets, which are considered accessible to all of the owners and which are jointly owned by members of a mixed food stamp household where one or more of the owners are categorically asset eligible and the remaining owner or owners are not recipients of AFDC, GA, or SSI benefits, shall be prorated by the number of owners listed on the asset. The prorated amount that is attributed to the owners who are nonrecipients of AFDC, GA, or SSI benefits shall be considered a countable asset when determining the household's total assetesip.[Eff 3/19/93; am 2/7/94; am 8/19/96] (Auth: HRS § 346-14) (Imp: 7 C.F.R. §§273.8(d),(j), 273.10(b) )