My father had savings bonds; he passed away. Everything went to my mom, but we did not change the savings bonds into her name. My mom passed away and I am the executor of the will. How do I get the savings bonds cashed?
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Generally savings bonds have a beneficiary named but it is not mandatory and a deceased bonds would then go to their estate. Did your father also have a will and was your mother the sole heir of his estate? Do you plan to put the money from the bonds into your mother's estate? Are there other family members who may contest your right to these bonds?
Legal matters like this can be daunting but a good bank officer should be able to help you with this matter. You will need to take the bonds, death certificates, any legal papers you have pertaining to your mother and any wills that found.
The Treasury Dept. site may be a little daunting but I have another site that may be easier to read:
www.treasurydirect.gov/
classroom.synonym.com/
From Treasurydirect.gov:
Fill out form FS Form 5336 (download or order).
Sign the form in the presence of a certifying official (as explained on the form).
I went through this several years ago when my first husband passed away. The hard part for me, was finding a bank that still would cash the bonds. Many banks anymore don't. So, call ahead to the banks to see who does and doesn't, and start with the one they banked at, as they would have already been through this process as their accounts were closed out, so some of the paperwork they would possibly still have.
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