U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury)

A living co-owner or named beneficiary takes the bond directly, outside the estate, becoming the owner "as if the survivor had been the only owner from the date we issued the bond." For a paper EE or I bond still earning interest, the survivor may do nothing, cash it, or have it reissued in their name alone.^{1, 2}

If only one person is named and that person died, the bond belongs to that person's estate. If two people are named and both have died, it belongs to the estate of the one who died last.¹

All Series HH bonds reached final maturity as of August 1, 2024 and no longer earn interest, so they can only be redeemed. Banks are not permitted to cash HH bonds; they must be sent to Treasury for payment.²

When no one named on the bond is living, no court or state small-estate procedure is settling the estate, and the decedent's savings bonds and other Treasury securities total $100,000 or less, a voluntary representative may cash the bonds or distribute them to the persons entitled on FS Form 5336.³

All securities belonging to the estate must be included in one transaction. Treasury cannot return what you send, so mail legible copies, not originals.³

The court-administered procedure covers estates with a court-appointed representative, estates settled under special provisions of state law, and estates whose Treasury securities exceed $100,000. In an open estate, the representative may redeem bonds to the estate or distribute specific bonds to specific heirs.⁴

A single savings bond cannot be split between several people. Matured bonds must be redeemed, so Series HH bonds can no longer be reissued, only distributed and then redeemed.⁴

TreasuryDirect offers a "Deceased Estate" entity registration to an individual or organization appointed by a court under state law to act for the estate, using the estate's EIN or the decedent's Social Security Number.⁵

The Treasury Hunt tool is no longer available as of September 30, 2025. Anyone who suspects they hold an unredeemed lost, stolen or destroyed savings bond is directed to submit a claim on FS Form 1048.⁶

Treasury sets no deadline to report a death, and no benefit is forfeited by waiting. If the person had an online TreasuryDirect account, contact TreasuryDirect promptly; it puts a hold on the account and says what to do.¹

A voluntary representative must be at least 18 and is taken in this order: the surviving spouse, a child, a descendant of a deceased child, a parent, a brother or sister, a descendant of a deceased brother or sister, then next of kin under the law of the domicile. Treasury recognizes one at a time.⁷

If the decedent's Treasury securities and undelivered payments total more than $100,000 in redemption value as of the date of death, the estate must be administered through a court. Treasury may also require administration at its discretion in any case.^{7, 8, 9}

A court-appointed representative signs the FS Form with a certified signature and title, for example "Jane Doe, court-appointed representative for John Doe, deceased."⁴

Federal benefit payments received after the date of death are not payable. Once the bank learns of the death it returns them, and Treasury's Fiscal Service issues a Notice of Reclamation (FS Form 133) to recover post-death payments that were not returned.^{10, 11}

The bank must mail a copy of the reclamation notice to the account owner's last known address, and may recover amounts from the account under state law or its account agreement.¹¹

If a survivor believes part of a payment is owed to them, the bank returns it anyway and tells the survivor to contact the paying agency about whether a final survivor payment is due.¹⁰

Payment for savings bonds, paper or electronic, is made by direct deposit, not by check. Only paper marketable securities are still paid by check.¹²

Executive Order 14247 directed Treasury to cease issuing paper checks for federal disbursements by September 30, 2025, to the extent permitted by law. Treasury moved its remaining check disbursement operations to a third-party provider in October 2025, focused on qualifying exceptions.¹³

Converting paper bonds to electronic takes 9 months or longer, searching for lost, stolen or missing bonds 11 months or longer, and unlocking an account or updating banking information 2 weeks or longer. Treasury notes a high volume of mailed requests.¹⁴

For Series HH bonds, deferred interest is reportable when the bonds are redeemed or mature, whichever comes first, so deferred interest on bonds reaching final maturity became reportable for tax year 2024 even if they were not cashed.¹

The tax treatment of savings bonds after an owner dies, in Publications 550, 17 and 559¹

Whether a final survivor payment is due on a Social Security benefit returned after the death¹⁰

Whether a final survivor payment is due on a VA benefit returned after the death¹⁰

Whether a final survivor payment is due on a federal annuity returned after the death¹⁰

Whether a final survivor payment is due on a railroad retirement annuity returned after the death¹⁰