If my grandmother purchased bonds and they are in her name and my nephew and nieces names, but then my grandmother passes away and has left them in my possession. I am the executor of her estate, etc. Am I able to cash those bonds?
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From what I understand, the person whose name is on the bond cashes it.
In my experience they can only be cashed by the owner. If she had another person's name on them, he/she is now the owner, based on her passing. The bank can verify if this is still the protocol. He/she may need a death certificate so be sure to order enough of them.
An executor usually takes care of items that are in the deceased's name and legally belonged to the deceased.
Some executor's duties and responsibilities may differ in different states so you should have something from your state explaining what you can and cannot do. This information should be obtainable from your courthouse.
As for the bonds your grandmother purchased and there is no mention of their distribution in her will (like 50% goes to a niece and so forth) it will be necessary for everyone named to be present (or their legal representative) for a bank to cash these bonds. Since you are the legal representative for your deceased grandmother you would need to be present and the money should be equally divided between all named on bonds. Your grandmother's share would be placed in her estate and legally handled by the executor for paying her past/present obligations.
Since these are government bonds you can discuss the payment with a postmaster but I believe they will direct you to a bank for payment. The bank takes care of making sure the money is going to named persons (they will probably need 2 forms of identification) and forwards 'paid' bonds to the appropriate government agency.
Being an executor is a legal responsibility and is usually overseen by the court so be sure to check out exactly what this position legally entails so you will know when you might be overstepping the legal boundaries.
Be sure you have a legal representative that you can consult anytime you have questions.
The bonds should be cashed by the person or persons whose name is on them.This should not be done if your name is not on the bonds. The nephew and nieces could file suite!
I agree but as it happens the grandmother's name is also on the bonds and the executor is the legal representative of her estate and in that instance she would be acting the same as if the grandmother was present.
Now it is possible that I could have a misunderstanding of this complete scenario and nothing I have said could be correct.
I just hope all concerned will have a friendly get together and make a trip to the bank to find out exactly what will happen.
That will be the answer to this question.
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