Section 208.210

Title XII PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE

Chapter 208

Effective - 28 Aug 2014   

  208.210.  Undeclared income or property — benefits may be recovered by division, when. — 1.  If at any time during the continuance of public assistance to any person, the recipient thereof, or the husband or wife of the recipient with whom he or she is living, is possessed or becomes possessed of any property or income in excess of the amount declared at the time of application or reinvestigation of his or her case and in such amount as would affect his or her needs or right to receive benefits, it shall be the duty of the recipient, or the husband or the wife of the recipient, to notify the family support division of the receipt or possession of such property or income, and the family support division may, after investigation, either cancel the benefits or alter the amount thereof in accordance with the circumstances.

  2.  Any benefits paid when the recipient or the recipient's spouse is in possession of such undeclared property or income shall be recoverable by the department of social services as a debt due to the state.  If during the life, or upon the death, of any person who is receiving or has received benefits, it is found that the recipient or the recipient's spouse was possessed of any property or income in excess of the amount reported that would affect his or her needs or right to receive benefits, or if it be shown such benefits were obtained through misrepresentation, nondisclosure of material facts, or through mistake of fact, the amount of benefits, without interest, may be recovered from him or her or his or her estate by the department of social services as a debt due the state.

  3.  The possession of undeclared property by a recipient or a recipient's spouse with whom the recipient is living shall be prima facie evidence of its ownership during the time benefits were granted, and the burden to prove otherwise shall be upon the recipient or the recipient's legal representative.

  4.  The federal government shall be entitled to share in any amount collected under the provisions of this section, however, not to exceed the amount contributed by the federal government in each case.  The amount due the United States shall be promptly paid or credited upon collection to the designated agency of the federal government by the department of social services.

­­--------

(L. 1951 p. 771 § 208.201, A.L. 2014 H.B. 1299 Revision)