Real Estate Rentals

According to Treasury Direct, an online service of the U.S. Treasury Department, if a savings bond is owned by just one person and that person passes away, the bond is included in the person’s estate.

If a both bond co-owners pass away, the bond becomes part of the estate of the one who died last. For example, your father dies and a few year later, your mother follows. As you are sorting through their belongings, you find a cache of savings bonds registered in both their names. The bonds should be included in the estate of your mother.

If a bond is co-owned by two people and one of them passes away, the bond becomes the property of the surviving co-owner “as if that survivor had been the sole owner from the time the bond was issued,” states Treasury Direct. If the surviving owner wants to add another person to the bond registration, she should have the bond reissued by submitting a certified copy of the decedent’s death certificate, along with form PD F 4000 to a Treasury Retail Securities Site.

If the value of the bonds in the estate, whether singly or jointly owned, is less than $100,000 and the estate will not be court-administered, the executor needs to complete and submit form PD F 5336, along with proof of death of all registrants, to Bureau of the Public Debt. If the value of the bonds is $100,000 or more, the court has to administer the estate.

In some states, small estates (typically those valued at less than $100,000) are governed by a special set of laws. Instead of resorting to probate, these estates can be settled via affidavit or court order. In the event bonds included in such an estate are awarded to specific heirs, each must sign the back of the bond(s) and have that signature certified to request payment. If the bonds are not awarded to specific individuals, heirs must complete and sign a form PD F 5394. The signed forms, along with proof of death and the notarized small estate affidavit or court order, must then be conveyed to the Bureau of the Public Debt.