ErnestEndeavor said:
I've thankfully never been in a position to have to apply for SNAP or other government benefits, does anyone know what the process is like? Is it solely based on your IRS reported income or do they do deeper looks into real wealth?
If I sue someone and get a big tax free settlement to the point I never have to work anymore, would that be flagged on a SNAP application?
I'm guessing here though the recipients were operating outside of the regular income economy and were likely doing things like drug dealing or other things.
This may be too much background so if you get that tax free settlement and buy a fancy car and home, and then get under the income limits you will qualify.
Read my experience.
I have two intellectually disabled adult sons. Both high functioning but with a 60 and 70 IQ. One of them is clearly disabled and is a great kid who has worked at the same grocery for 11 years. Everyone loves him.
The other does not look disabled and has a chip on his shoulder. We adopted him at 3 and he has attachment issues since. To those that don't know about his disability, he just comes off as another low educated black kid with an attitude so he has been jobless for the last 1.5 years. He went through about 7 jobs during the time his brother had the one. The original supervisor would understand and work with him, but as soon there was turnover these would be problems. Both kids are black by the way so that is not huge factor in how they are treated.
Both receive social security disability and are limited to making I think $1400 a month at a job so about 20-25 hours a week. The one that has a steady job does not qualify for snap as he gets about $1200 from a disability check and makes about $1300 at work. The state does help pay his Medicare costs and I have to waiver him into Medicaid though he may make too much on any given year and he is my medically fragile kid.
So about $30k a year all told.
The one that hasn't had a job for over a year only qualifies for about $230 a month in SNAP and he is getting about $1100 in disability so he is running a small, but significant to me, deficit every month just on food, clothes and an the little bit of entertainment he does.
A single car and your primary home do not count in your income and asset allocations when it comes to these programs.
The process with the state is web based and mostly simple, though all of the programs are confusing. The state of texas is about 1000% better than working with the feds and I hope they are working to catch the ones that are cheating, but with the value of a persons who are cheating but with the home and one auto excluded it will be hard.
