Recently Wed Applicant

[TimH]

Q: If an applicant was married two months prior to applying to SCSEP, is the spouse's income counted for the entire look-back period (six months or twelve months) or just for the two months of the marriage?

[charteroakadmin]

A: You only count the souse's income for the two months when the applicant was married. You cannot attribute to the applicant income that he or she did not have for the prior months.

An eligibility determination is valid for 12 months barring a substantial change in circumstance. Since the applicant's marriage was known and the spouse's income was counted at the time of determination, there is no basis for redetermining the applicant in less than 12 months due to the souse's known income. However, if the spouse's income over 12 months will render the applicant over-income at her first recertification, you should so advise the applicant at the time of enrollment so there is no misunderstanding later.