906 Rebutting the Transfer Penalty Period

Policy

A transfer penalty period may be ended or waived if the customer successfully demonstrates one of the following:

·        All of the transferred income or resources have been returned to the customer;

·        Full compensation was received for the transferred resource or income;

·        The customer intended to sell or trade the resource or income for its current market value (CMV), or for other valuable consideration that would equal the CMV; or

·        The income or resources were transferred exclusively for a purpose other than to qualify for ALTCS benefits.  

1)    Return of Transferred Income or Resource

When convincing proof is received that all of the transferred income or resource has been returned to the customer, the following policies are applied:

·        The penalty period is ended the month in which all of the transferred income or resources were returned.

·        The returned income or resource is counted as of the month of return.

2)    Receipt of Compensation

The value of compensation received by the customer is determined according to the kind of compensation using the policy in MA904.

When convincing proof is received that the customer received full compensation, the following policy is applied:

·        The penalty period is ended the month in which full compensation was received.

·        The returned income or resource is counted as of the month it was received.  

3)    Intent to Sell or Trade for Current Market Value

The customer may have intended to get CMV for the income or resource, but was unable to, due to reasons outside of the customer’s control.  When convincing proof is received that the customer intended to sell or trade the income or resource for CMV, the penalty period is waived.

4)    Transfer Not Made to Qualify for ALTCS

Transfers are assumed to be made to qualify for ALTCS.  To meet this condition, all of the following must be met:

·        The customer must have a specific reason for the transfer that is completely unrelated to qualifying for ALTCS;

·        None of the factors in the decision to transfer the item may be related to qualifying for ALTCS; and

·        The customer must show that a need for ALTCS services could not have been anticipated at the time the transfer was made.

When convincing proof is received that the transfer was not made to qualify for ALTCS, the penalty period is waived.

The Public Information Brochure on Transfers (DE-818) provides information about transfers and rebuttals.

Definition

Proof

When the customer wants to rebut the proposed transfer penalty period, the customer must provide proof that one of the rebuttal conditions was met.  The burden of proof that the penalty period should not be applied rests with the customer.

The specific proof needed for each rebuttal reason is described below.

1)    Return of Transferred Item

To rebut the penalty period based on the return of the transferred income or resource, the customer must provide a written statement and proof that supports the written statement.

Written Statement

The statement must include all of the following information:

·        A list of the income or resources returned; and

·        The date that each item was returned to the customer.

NOTE          The penalty period will not be reduced or ended when only a part of the transferred items are returned.

Supporting proof

Proof that the income or resources were returned will vary depending on the type of item, but examples include:

·        Property deed signed and notarized after the initial transfer showing the customer as owner;

·        Bank statement or deposit record showing return of cash to the customer’s account; or

·        Title document issued after the initial transfer showing the customer as owner.

2)    Full Compensation Received

To rebut the penalty period based on full compensation being received, the customer must provide a written statement and proof that supports the written statement.

Written Statement

The statement must include all of the following information:

·        The type of compensation received;

·        The value of the compensation received; and

·        The date that compensation was received.

Supporting proof

Proof that the customer has received full compensation for the transferred item will vary depending on the type of item. Examples include:

·        When the compensation was in the form of real property, a deed showing the customer as owner, dated after the initial transfer;

·        A bank statement or financial record showing cash compensation deposited to the customer’s account;

·        Other title documents or legal ownership records dated after the initial transfer showing the customer as the new owner of the item received as compensation; and

·        When compensation was received in the form of bills or expenses paid on the customer’s behalf, the person making the payments must provide proof that the expenses were paid from his or her own funds.

3)    Intent to Dispose of Asset for Current Market Value

To rebut the penalty period based on intent to get CMV for the asset, the customer must provide a written statement and proof that supports the written statement.

Written Statement

The statement must include all of the following information:

·        Purpose for transferring the income or resource;

·        Attempts made to dispose of resource or income at CMV;

·        Reasons for accepting less than the CMV for the resource or income;

·        Why the customer believes that adequate compensation was received;

·        Customer’s relationship, if any, to the person to whom the income or resource was transferred; and

·        Customer’s means of or plans for self-support after the transfer.

Supporting proof

Proof that the customer intended to get CMV for the transferred item will vary depending on the type of item. Examples include:

·        Written offers for purchase;

·        Declarations from the realtor contracted to sell the property; or

·        Estimates of the value of the resource from professional, knowledgeable sources.

4)    Transfer Not Made to Qualify for ALTCS

To rebut the penalty period based on the transfer not made to qualify for ALTCS, the customer must provide a written statement and proof that supports the written statement.

Written Statement

The statement must include all of the following information:

·        The specific reason for transferring the asset; and

·        Why a need for ALTCS services could not have been anticipated at the time the transfer was made.

NOTE          A verbal statement cannot be accepted.  The customer must provide a signed, written statement.

Supporting proof

Proof will vary depending on the situation. Examples include:

·        Court documents showing the transfer was ordered by a court and none of the following people asked or petitioned the court to order the transfer:

o       The customer;

o       The customer’s spouse;

o       A person with legal authority to act on behalf of the customer or the customer’s spouse; or

o       A person acting at the direction or request of the customer or the customer’s spouse.

·        Medical records showing that the customer’s current need for ALTCS services is solely due to the diagnosis of a disabling condition or a trauma, like an accident or injury that happened after the transfer;

·        Legal and other written documents showing that after the transfer there was an unexpected loss of other income or resources that would have prevented the customer from qualifying for ALTCS;

·        At the time of the transfer the customer could not have anticipated qualifying for ALTCS due to other circumstances that would have prevented ALTCS eligibility; or

·        Proof that the customer’s total counted income and resources would have been below the ALTCS limits standard at all times from the month of transfer through the present month, even if the transferred income or resource had been kept. This reason does not apply to the transfer of excluded resources or home property.  

Legal Authority