WAC 388-475-0350   SSI-related medical -- Property and contracts excluded as resources.  (1) The department does not count the following resources when determining eligibility for SSI-related medical assistance:

     (a) A client's household goods and personal effects;

     (b) One home (which can be any shelter), including the land on which the dwelling is located and all contiguous property and related out-buildings in which the client has ownership interest, when:

     (i) The client uses the home as his or her primary residence; or

     (ii) The client's spouse lives in the home; or

     (iii) The client does not currently live in the home but the client or his/her representative has stated the client intends to return to the home; or

     (iv) A relative, who is financially or medically dependent on the client, lives in the home and the client, client's representative, or dependent relative has provided a written statement to that effect.

     (c) The value of ownership interest in jointly owned real property is an excluded resource for as long as sale of the property would cause undue hardship to a co-owner due to loss of housing. Undue hardship would result if the co-owner:

     (i) Uses the property as his or her principal place of residence;

     (ii) Would have to move if the property were sold; and

     (iii) Has no other readily available housing.

     (2) Cash proceeds from the sale of the home described in subsection (1)(b) above are not considered if the client uses them to purchase another home by the end of the third month after receiving the proceeds from the sale.

     (3) An installment contract from the sale of the home described in subsection (1)(b) above is not a resource as long as the person plans to use the entire down payment and the entire principal portion of a given installment payment to buy another excluded home, and does so within three full calendar months after the month of receiving such down payment or installment payment.

     (4) The value of sales contracts is excluded when the:

     (a) Current market value of the contract is zero,

     (b) Contract cannot be sold, or

     (c) Current market value of the sales contract combined with other resources does not exceed the resource limits.

     (5) Sales contracts executed before December 1, 1993, are exempt resources as long as they are not transferred to someone other than a spouse.

     (6) A sales contract for the sale of the client's principal place of residence executed between December 1, 1993 and May 31. 2004 is considered an exempt resource unless it has been transferred to someone other than a spouse and it:

     (a) Provides interest income within the prevailing interest rate at the time of the sale;

     (b) Requires the repayment of a principal amount equal to the fair market value of the property; and

     (c) The term of the contract does not exceed thirty years.

     (7) A sales contract executed on or after June 1, 2004 on a home that was the principal place of residence for the client at the time of institutionalization is considered exempt as long as it is not transferred to someone other than a spouse and it:

     (a) Provides interest income within the prevailing interest rate at the time of the sale;

     (b) Requires the repayment of a principal amount equal to the fair market value of the property within the anticipated life expectancy of the client; and

     (c) The term of the contract does not exceed thirty years.

     (8) Payments received on sales contracts of the home described in subsection (1)(b) above are treated as follows:

     (a) The interest portion of the payment is treated as unearned income in the month of receipt of the payment;

     (b) The principal portion of the payment is treated as an excluded resource if reinvested in the purchase of a new home within three months after the month of receipt;

     (c) If the principal portion of the payment is not reinvested in the purchase of a new home within three months after the month of receipt, that portion of the payment is considered a liquid resource as of the date of receipt.

     (9) Payments received on sales contracts described in subsection (4) are treated as follows:

     (a) The principal portion of the payment on the contract is treated as a resource and counted toward the resource limit to the extent retained at the first moment of the month following the month of receipt of the payment; and

     (b) The interest portion is treated as unearned income the month of receipt of the payment.

     (10) For sales contracts that meet the criteria in subsections (5), (6), or (7) but do not meet the criteria in subsections (3) or (4), both the principal and interest portions of the payment are treated as unearned income in the month of receipt.

     (11) Property essential to self-support is not considered a resource within certain limits. The department places property essential to self-support in several categories:

     (a) Real and personal property used in a trade or business (income-producing property), such as:

     (i) Land,

     (ii) Buildings,

     (iii) Equipment,

     (iv) Supplies,

     (v) Motor vehicles, and

     (vi) Tools.

     (b) Nonbusiness income-producing property, such as:

     (i) Houses or apartments for rent, or

     (ii) Land, other than home property.

     (c) Property used to produce goods or services essential to an individual's daily activities, such as land used to produce vegetables or livestock, which is only used for personal consumption in the individual's household. This includes personal property necessary to perform daily functions including vehicles such as boats for subsistence fishing and garden tractors for subsistence farming, but does not include other vehicles such as those that qualify as automobiles (cars, trucks).

     (12) The department will exclude an individual's equity in real and personal property used in a trade or business (income producing property listed in subsection (11)(a) above) regardless of value as long as it is currently in use in the trade or business and remains used in the trade or business.

     (13) The department excludes up to six thousand dollars of an individual's equity in nonbusiness income-producing property listed in subsection (11)(b) above, if it produces a net annual income to the individual of at least six percent of the excluded equity.

     (a) If a person's equity in the property is over six thousand dollars, only the amount over six thousand dollars is counted toward the resource limit, as long as the net annual income requirement of six percent is met on the excluded equity.

     (b) If the six percent requirement is not met due to circumstances beyond the person's control, and there is a reasonable expectation that the activities will again meet the six percent rule, the same exclusions as in subsection (13)(a) above apply.

     (c) If a person has more than one piece of property in this category, each is looked at to see if it meets the six percent return and the total equities of all those properties are added to see if the total is over six thousand dollars. If the total is over the six thousand dollars limit, the amount exceeding the limit is counted toward the resource limit.

     (d) The equity in each property that does not meet the six percent annual net income limit is counted toward the resource limit, with the exception of property that represents the authority granted by a governmental agency to engage in an income-producing activity if it is:

     (i) Used in a trade or business or nonbusiness income-producing activity; or

     (ii) Not used due to circumstances beyond the individual's control, e.g., illness, and there is a reasonable expectation that the use will resume.

     (14) Property used to produce goods or services essential to an individual's daily activities is excluded if the individual's equity in the property does not exceed six thousand dollars.

     (15) Personal property used by an individual for work is not counted, regardless of value, while in current use, or if the required use for work is reasonably expected to resume.

     (16) Interests in trust or in restricted Indian land owned by an individual who is of Indian descent from a federally recognized Indian tribe or held by the spouse or widow/er of that individual, is not counted if permission of the other individuals, the tribe, or an agency of the federal government must be received in order to dispose of the land.



[Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.050, 74.08.090. 04-09-003, § 388-475-0350, filed 4/7/04, effective 6/1/04.]