Nebraska Statutes 43-907. Assets; custody; records; expenditures; investments; social security benefits; department; duties
(1) Unless a guardian shall have been appointed by a court of competent jurisdiction, the Department of Health and Human Services shall take custody of and exercise general control over assets owned by children under the charge of the department. Children owning assets shall at all times pay for personal items. Assets over and above a maximum of one thousand dollars and current income shall be available for reimbursement to the state for the cost of care. Assets may be deposited in a checking account, invested in United States bonds, or deposited in a savings account insured by the United States Government. All income received from the investment or deposit of assets shall be credited to the individual child whose assets were invested or deposited. The department shall make and maintain detailed records showing all receipts, investments, and expenditures of assets owned by children under the charge of the department.
Terms Used In Nebraska Statutes 43-907
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- Attorney: shall mean attorney at law. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
- Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- State: when applied to different states of the United States shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories organized by Congress. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
- United States: shall include territories, outlying possessions, and the District of Columbia. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
(2) When the Department of Health and Human Services serves as representative payee for a child beneficiary of social security benefits, the department shall provide:
(a) Notice to the child beneficiary, in an age-appropriate manner, and the child’s guardian ad litem, that the department is acting as the child’s representative payee for the purposes of receiving social security benefits, within thirty days after receiving the first social security benefit payment on behalf of the child;
(b) Notice to the juvenile court, at every review hearing regarding the child beneficiary after January 1, 2023, regarding the department’s receipt and conservation of the child’s social security benefits, that shall include:
(i) The total amount of social security benefit funds the department has received on behalf of the child beneficiary as of the review hearing; and
(ii) The total amount of social security benefit funds received on behalf of the child beneficiary that are currently conserved or unspent as of the review hearing; and
(c) All accounting records regarding the department’s receipt, use, and conservation of the child’s social security benefits, to the child beneficiary, the child’s guardian ad litem or attorney, or the child’s parent upon:
(i) Request from the child beneficiary, the child’s guardian ad litem or attorney, or the child’s parent; and
(ii) Termination of the department’s role as the child beneficiary’s representative payee.
(3) On or before October 1, 2023, the Department of Health and Human Services shall adopt and promulgate rules and regulations to carry out subsection (2) of this section consistent with federal requirements regarding representative payees for social security beneficiaries.