N.J. Admin. Code § 10:90-3.20

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 9, May 6, 2024

Section 10:90-3.20 - Exempt resources

(a) Exempt resources are not subject to any requirement for liquidation and are not considered in determining WFNJ eligibility or in determining the cash assistance benefit. In addition to the exempt income set forth at N.J.A.C. 10:90-3.19, the following resources shall be exempt for each assistance unit:

1. Benefits available through the WFNJ program which are over and above the cash assistance allowance, such as, but not limited to, child care and transportation payments;

2. Aid/assistance from other agencies or organizations, whether public or private, as exempt from Federal and/or State law such as, but not limited to, Federal Emergency Management Assistance (FEMA), which supplements but does not supplant WFNJ benefits;

3. Up to a total of $ 2,000 in resources (including savings);

i. An exception to the $ 2,000 limit may be made for minor parents living in alternate adult supervised living arrangements only. For such minor parents, the full amount of special minor parent alternate living arrangement savings accounts and all interest and/or dividend earnings from such an account shall also be exempt;

ii. In addition to the above resources, moneys, matching contributions and interest on funds which are held in separate approved Individual Development Accounts are totally exempt. Funds which are held in approved Individual Development Accounts shall not be considered available for the assistance unit's use for emergency assistance purposes. The funds in these accounts are controlled by other entities and must be designated for one of the following purposes:

(1) Purchase of a home;

(2) Educational/training expenses;

(3) Purchase of a motor vehicle; or

(4) Purchase of a business.

iii. Moneys identified at (a)3 and 3i above are exempt in determining eligibility for WFNJ. However, in the event that a WFNJ assistance unit is in need of emergency assistance, such funds may be considered available for the assistance unit's use to meet the emergency need prior to the issuance of emergency assistance;

4. All motor vehicle(s) registered in the name of a member of the assistance unit;

i. Recreational vehicles are not subject to the resource exemption and the value of recreational vehicles, registered in the name of an assistance unit member, shall be included in the determination of financial eligibility. The fair market value of a recreational vehicle shall be determined by the value of those vehicles as indicated on the National Automobile Dealers Association Internet website www.nadaguides.com. The county or municipal agency shall not increase the basic value of a vehicle by adding the value of low mileage or other factors such as optional or handicap accessible equipment. If a new vehicle is not listed on the website, the county or municipal agency shall determine the wholesale value by some other means such as, but not limited to, contacting a dealer that sells that make of recreational vehicle;

5. Real property owned by an eligible assistance unit member(s) and used as a home by a member(s) of the eligible assistance unit, together with so much of the land on which the house stands as is reasonably necessary for the maintenance of the house;

i. The property may remain in exempt status during temporary absence of the entire assistance unit for a period up to four months, at which time the county or municipal agency shall review the status and, if so indicated, may allow it to remain in exempt status for an additional four months. Continued absence through the entire eight months shall be deemed to be permanent and the property shall be removed from exempt status;

6. Personal property, such as, but not limited to, house furnishings and clothing which are used regularly or likely to be used;

i. Furnishings and clothing in storage may be deemed to be exempt in the presence of a reasonable plan for their use;

ii. Personal effects if regularly used or of small intrinsic value;

(1) Items of exceptional value not regularly used and not essential to the physical health and safety of the eligible assistance unit are not exempt;

7. Livestock, machinery, tools, equipment, and stock-in-trade which serve to produce some net income in cash or in kind or serve as an incentive for self-help; livestock or property owned or used by a child in connection with a group or school activity (such as 4-H); and farm and garden products raised by the eligible assistance unit for its own use;

8. Any asset, real or personal, the liquidation of which would produce no net revenue to the eligible assistance unit;

9. Nonrecurring gifts and contributions of nominal amount or value, such as those for birthdays, graduations or holidays;

10. Bona fide and/or personal loans which are held and used for specific purposes in accordance with the conditions of the loan and not used to meet day-to-day living costs; and, such loans are evidenced by a document signed by the client and the lender which states the amount of the loan and terms of repayment;

11. Fees paid in conjunction with the collection of a pending claim when the costs were incurred during a period of receipt of WFNJ (see N.J.A.C. 10:90-7 );

12. Prepaid burial plots (limited to one for each member of the eligible assistance unit) and prepaid bona fide funeral agreements up to a total value of $ 4,000 per assistance unit member, to the extent that the total equity value of any agreement attributable to each member of an eligible assistance unit does not exceed $ 2,430, unless such assistance unit member was a recipient of General Assistance prior to July 1, 1997 and the exemption at (a)12iii below applies;

i. Burial plots mean conventional gravesites, crypts, mausoleums, urns or other repositories which are customarily and traditionally used for the remains of deceased persons.

ii. Funeral agreements mean contractual arrangements to provide for the costs connected with burial, cremation, or other funeral arrangements.

iii. Prepaid irrevocably assigned funeral/burial arrangements, as noted in (a)12iii(1) through (3) below, for WFNJ/GA recipients who were General Assistance recipients and had made such arrangements prior to July 1, 1997;

(1) Prepaid irrevocable funeral/burial insurance policies;

(2) Prepaid irrevocable funeral/burial annuity policies;

(3) Prepaid irrevocable funeral/burial trust funds;

13. Life insurance policies;

14. Resources designated for special purposes as follow:

i. Relocation adjustment payments which are made pursuant to the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970;

ii. The value of the NJ SNAP allotment for any household participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture;

iii. Allowances for participation in the WFNJ program, including payments for transportation and related expenses set forth in the supportive services section at N.J.A.C. 10:90-5 and payments for child care;

iv. Allowance payments, that is, monies paid to offset expenses related to training received by a WFNJ parent or parent-person who is participating in the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) program;

v. Payments to assistance units for child care in situations where special circumstances occur within the household (such as emergency illness of the parent(s)) that necessitate alternative care for a child on a temporary basis; and transportation or the cost of transportation, which is not available from any other source, to transport that child to and from the child care site when it is essential for the child's physical health and safety;

vi. Supplemental aid by other agencies or organizations, whether public or private, provided that:

(1) There is no duplication between such aid and the public assistance grant;

(2) Such aid is for a special purpose not within the function of the public assistance agency (for example, vocational rehabilitation); or

(3) Such aid is to any undergraduate student for educational purposes;

vii. Monies received through the Subsidized Adoption Program of the Division of Child Protection and Permanency pursuant to 30:4C-45 through 49 ( P.L. 1973, c.81);

viii. Monies received on behalf of a child in resource family care, including extra payments received for special services; and

ix. Funds received by applicants and recipients through certain Federal programs as delineated in (a)14ix(1) through (18) below:

(1) Funds distributed or held in trust for members of any Indian Tribe under Public Law 92-254 or 93-134;

(2) Funds which are tax-exempt portions of payments made pursuant to Public Law 92-03, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act;

(3) Benefits or assistance received through the WIC program (Special Supplemental Food program for Women, Infants and Children) and the special food services program for children under the National School Lunch Act as amended by Public Laws 92-433 and 93-150;

(4) Benefits received under Title VII, Nutrition Program for the Elderly, of the Older Americans Act of 1965 ( 42 U.S.C. §§ 3001 et seq.);

(5) Payments made through Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE), Active Corps of Executives (ACE);

(6) Payments made through the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Section 8, Rental Assistance Program (RAP), which provides funds to certain disabled individuals and low income families to assist them in meeting shelter costs;

(7) HUD community development block grant funds under Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974;

(8) Benefits received by eligible households under the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 pursuant to section 2605(f) of Public Law 97-35;

(9) Allowances and benefits under the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993 (NCSTA) which established a Corporation for National and Community Service which administers national service programs, including the Americorps programs, the Senior Corps and Youth Corps programs; the Learn and Serve program and, the Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program;

(10) All student financial assistance received under Title IV of the Higher Education Act and under the Bureau of Indian Affairs student assistance programs;

(11) Student financial assistance made for attendance costs under the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act Amendments of 1990;

(12) Restitution made, under Section 105 of Title I of P.L. 100-383, the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, to individuals of Japanese ancestry who were interned during World War II;

(13) Restitution made, under Section 206 of Title II of P.L. 100-383, the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands Restitution Act, to Aleuts who were relocated by the U.S. government during World War II;

(14) Major disaster and emergency assistance granted under Section 105 of P.L. 100-707, the Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Amendments of 1988, including FEMA;

(15) Agent Orange payments as provided for under Section 1(a) of P.L. 101-201 and Section 10405 of P.L. 101-239 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989;

(16) Amounts paid to individuals, under Section 6(h)(2) of P.L. 101-426, the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act of 1990, for injuries or deaths due to exposure to radiation from nuclear testing and uranium mining;

(17) Payments made to individuals because of their status as victims of Nazi persecution; and

(18) Stipends received by individuals who participate in the New Jersey Youth Corps Stipends Program.

N.J. Admin. Code § 10:90-3.20

Administrative change, 46 N.J.R. 855(b).

Amended by 51 N.J.R. 1461(c), effective 9/16/2019