N.M. Admin. Code § 8.248.500.13

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 21, November 5, 2024

Section 8.248.500.13 - COUNTABLE RESOURCES

Before a resource can be considered countable, the three criteria listed below must be met.

A. Ownership interest: An applicant/recipient must have an ownership interest in a resource for it to be countable. The fact that an applicant/recipient has access to a resource, or has a legal right to use it, does not make it countable unless the applicant/recipient also has an ownership interest in it.

B. Legal right to convert resource to cash: An applicant/recipient must have the legal ability to spend the funds or to convert non-cash resources into cash.

(1) Physical possession of resource: The fact that an applicant/recipient does not have physical possession of a resource does not mean it is not their resource. If they have the legal ability to spend the funds or convert the resource to cash, the resource is considered countable. Physical possession of savings bonds is a legal requirement for cashing them.

(2) Unrestricted use of resource: An applicant/recipient is considered to have free access to the unrestricted use of a resource even if he can take those actions only through an agent, such as a representative payee or guardian.

(3) If there is a legal bar to the sale of a resource, such as a co-owner legally blocking the sale of jointly owned property, the resource is not countable. The applicant/recipient is not required to undertake litigation in order to accomplish the sale.

C. Legal ability to use a resource: If a legal restriction exists which prevents the use of a resource for the applicant/recipient's own support and maintenance, the resource is not countable.

D. Jointly-held account: If the applicant/spouse is the only subsidy claimant or subsidy recipient who is an account holder on a jointly held account, the state will presume that all of the funds in the account belong to the applicant/spouse. If more than one subsidy claimant or subsidy recipient are account holders, the state will presume that the funds in the account belong to those individuals in equal shares. If the applicant/spouse disagrees with the ownership presumption described in this subsection, they may rebut the presumption. Rebuttal is a procedure that permits an individual to furnish evidence and establish that some or all of the funds in the jointly-held account do not belong to them.

N.M. Admin. Code § 8.248.500.13

8.248.500.13 NMAC - N, 2-1-06, Adopted by New Mexico Register, Volume XXXV, Issue 12, June 25, 2024, eff. 7/1/2024