The PRINCIPLE of the ANTERIORITY of the DEFICIT is that assistance granted to an adult or family in a given month is based on its financial situation on the LAST DAY OF THE PRECEDING MONTH. The benefit paid for a month is thus equivalent to the deficit between the needs calculated for the month and the resources allocated on the last day of the preceding month.
The notion of the "the last day of the preceding month" means that only the liquid assets and goods possessed on the LAST DAY of that MONTH will be counted.
However, EXCEPTIONS exist in applying this rule of the anteriority of the deficit: These exceptions are dealt with in the following sub-topics.
By noting the deficit of the preceding month it is possible to avoid modifications that would otherwise occur, if the benefits were based on the current month. The recipient cannot be adversely affected because a balance is maintained from one month to another and he or she benefits from a greatly simplified system of administration that pays the assistance as early as the end of the preceding month.