§ 20-10-1205 - Property and personal affairs of residents. - Arkansas Statutes

20-10-1205. Property and personal affairs of residents.

(a) (1) The admission of a resident to a long-term care facility and his or her presence in the facility shall not confer on the facility or its owner, administrator, employees, or representatives any authority to manage, use, or dispose of any property of the resident, nor shall the admission or presence confer on any of the aforementioned persons any authority or responsibility for the personal affairs of the resident except that which may be necessary for the safety of the residents and the orderly management of the facility.

(2) No licensee, owner, administrator, employee, or representative thereof shall act as guardian, trustee, or conservator for any resident of the facility or any such resident's property unless the person is the resident's spouse or blood relative within the third degree of consanguinity or if so ordered by a court before July 30, 1999.

(b) (1) A licensee shall provide for the safekeeping of personal effects, funds, and other property of the resident in the facility.

(2) Whenever necessary for the protection of valuables or in order to avoid unreasonable responsibility therefor, the licensee may require that valuables be excluded or removed from the facility and kept at some place not subject to the control of the licensee.

(3) A licensee shall keep complete and accurate records of all funds and other effects and property of its residents received by it for safekeeping.

(4) Any funds or other property belonging to a resident that are received by a licensee shall be held in trust. Funds held in trust:

(A) Shall be kept separate from the funds and property of the facility;

(B) Shall be deposited into a bank, savings and loan association, trust company, or credit union located in this state and, if possible, located in the same county in which the facility is located;

(C) Shall not be represented as part of the assets of the facility on a financial statement; and

(D) Shall be used or otherwise expended only for the account of the resident.

(c) (1) The licensee may enter into a self-insurance agreement as specified in rules adopted by the Office of Long-Term Care.

(2) Funds contained in the pool shall run to any resident suffering financial loss as a result of the violation by the licensee of the provisions of this section. Such funds shall be awarded to any resident in an amount equal to the amount that the resident can establish by affidavit or other adequate evidence was deposited in trust with the licensee and which could not be paid to the resident within thirty (30) days of the resident's request.

(3) (A) The office shall promulgate rules with regard to the establishment, organization, and operation of such self-insurance pools.

(B) The rules shall include, but shall not be limited to, requirements for monetary reserves to be maintained by the self-insurers to assure their financial solvency.

(d) (1) (A) If at any time during the period for which a license is issued, a licensee that has not entered into a self-insurance agreement, as provided in subsection (c) of this section, is requested to provide safekeeping for the personal funds of a resident, the licensee shall notify the agency of the request and make application for a surety bond or for participation in a self-insurance agreement within seven (7) days of the request, exclusive of weekends and holidays.

(B) Copies of the application, along with written documentation of related correspondence with an insurance agency or group, shall be maintained by the licensee for review by the office and the ombudsman.

(2) Moneys or securities received as advance payment for care may not at any time exceed the cost of care for a six-month period.

(3) At least annually, the licensee shall furnish the resident and the guardian, trustee, or conservator, if any, for the resident a complete and verified statement of all funds and other property to which this subsection applies, detailing the amounts and items received, together with their sources and disposition. In any event, the licensee shall furnish such a statement annually and upon the discharge or transfer of a resident.

(e) (1) (A) (i) In the event of the death of a resident, a licensee within thirty (30) days of the resident's death shall provide an accounting and shall return all refunds and funds held in trust to the resident's personal representative, if one has been appointed at the time that the long-term care facility disburses such funds and, if not, to the resident's spouse or a beneficiary named in a beneficiary designation form provided by the long-term care facility to the resident.

(ii) No licensee, owner, administrator, employee, or representative of a long-term care facility shall be named as a beneficiary to a resident's funds.

(iii) A beneficiary designation form shall be completed only by the resident at the time of admission to a long-term care facility and in the presence of two (2) witnesses who shall affix their signatures to the form as witnesses.

(B) If the resident has no spouse or a named beneficiary or the person cannot be located, funds due to the resident shall be placed in an interest-bearing account in a bank, savings and loan association, trust company, or credit union located in this state and, if possible, located within the same county in which the facility is located. The funds shall not be represented as part of the assets of the facility on a financial statement, and the licensee shall maintain the account until such time as the trust funds are disbursed pursuant to the provisions of the Probate Code, 28-1-101 et seq.

(2) (A) All other property of a deceased resident being held in trust by the licensee shall be returned to the resident's personal representative, if one has been appointed at the time that the facility disburses such property and, if not, to the resident's spouse or a beneficiary named in a beneficiary designation form provided by the facility to the resident.

(B) If the resident has no spouse or a named beneficiary or the person cannot be located, property being held is to be disbursed pursuant to the provisions of the Probate Code, 28-1-101 et seq.

(f) (1) The trust funds and property of deceased residents shall be kept separately from the funds and the property of the licensee and from the funds and property of the residents of the facility.

(2) (A) The long-term care facility needs to maintain only one (1) account in which the trust funds amounting to less than one hundred dollars ($100) of deceased residents are placed.

(B) However, it shall be the obligation of the long-term care facility to maintain adequate records to permit compilation of interest due each individual resident's account.

(3) Separate accounts shall be maintained with respect to trust funds of deceased residents equal to or in excess of one hundred dollars ($100).

(4) Any other property of a deceased resident held in trust by a licensee which is not disbursed in accordance with the Probate Code, 28-1-101 et seq., shall escheat to the state as provided by law.