Living estates (powers of attorney, guardians, & conservators) – how to cash, reissue, or claim a savings bond in a living estate
A living estate may involve one of the following:
- Power of Attorney (POA) – A person appoints an individual(s) or an organization as attorney-in-fact by signing a power of attorney document.
- Guardianship or Conservatorship - A court appoints an individual(s) or an organization to act as guardian or conservator for a living person by issuing letters of appointment, a court document.
This page tells you how to cash, reissue, file a claim, and search for savings bonds involving both living estate types.
Important notes for all these tasks
- When you send us a bond, leave it unsigned.
- We can't return what you send us. So, send only copies of documents like your letters of appointment. Be sure that everything is legible on the copy, including the seal or stamp of the court.
- Be sure that all documents and forms you send us are complete, signed, and certified according to the instructions on the form. Incomplete or inaccurate submissions delay processing.
- Each form is available online.
- Each form has instructions on how to fill it out and where to send it.
Power of Attorney (POA)
A person (called the grantor) can sign a document (called a power of attorney) giving an individual(s) or organization (called the attorney-in-fact) the right to act for the person.
A power of attorney document must be durable or signed in the past two years.
If you are an attorney-in-fact, you cannot reissue bonds for the grantor.
If the grantor is named on the bonds as an owner, you can cash the bonds for them. Send us:
- FS Form 1522
- The unsigned bond(s)
- The power of attorney document
If the grantor has lost, stolen, or destroyed bonds, you can file a claim to cash the bonds for them. Send us:
- FS Form 1048
- A list of the bond serial numbers
- The power of attorney document
Guardianship or Conservatorship
A court, following state law, can appoint an individual or an organization to act as guardian or conservator for a living person (called the ward). This is usually because the person is not competent to take care of their own financial affairs. Savings bonds may be registered to a living estate when the guardian or conservator is an individual.
If you are the guardian or conservator, you can cash bonds for the ward. Send us:
- FS Form 1522
- The unsigned bonds
- A certified copy of the letters of appointment
If you want to reissue bonds, we handle this on a case-by-case basis. Contact us for more help at 1-844-284-2676.
If the ward has lost, stolen, or destroyed bonds, you can file a claim for them. Send us:
- FS Form 1048
- A list of the bond serial numbers
- A certified copy of your letters of appointment
On FS Form 1048, you have the option of getting cash for the bond or getting a replacement bond. Replacement EE or I bonds are electronic.
Check for other savings bonds in a living estate
If you think the living estate might include bonds that you can't find, you can use our Treasury Hunt database to search for them. We update the database every month.
To search, you need the bond owner's Social Security Number (SSN), or name and state. For a living estate, that would be the SSN or name and state of the person for whom you are the legal guardian.
If the search turns up bonds for you, you'll get information on how to claim and cash them.