General information from a recorded webinar, not legal advice for your situation.

Who can handle county benefits for you?

Quick answer · 0:52 · From Supported Decision-Making: Less Restrictive Alternatives to Guardianship · Recorded Apr 24, 2026

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Short answer

You can name an authorized representative to handle county benefits like Medical Assistance, MSA, GRH and SNAP. That person receives county mail, talks with the county and handles renewals. No guardian is needed.

Key points

  • County paperwork confuses many people.
  • The rep handles mail and renewals.
  • It keeps benefits from lapsing.

Katie HestnessEducation Navigator, Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota · Guest presenter

Read this part of the transcript

Another option is authorized rep for county benefits. So when you look at the alphabet soup of county benefits that are available to people, medical assistance, so MA, MSA, GRH, SNAP, any of these benefits available, again, without a guardian, you can name somebody as an authorized rep to help manage those on your behalf. County paperwork can be very confusing. I’ve been doing it for 15 years at this point, and I still get confused by it. But for a family member, I am their authorized rep, meaning I get all of their county mail. I am able to communicate with the county on their behalf about their benefits, do their renewal paperwork every year.

Created automatically from the recording. Full transcript on the webinar page.

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