Can a co-owner cash a Savings Bond without the owner's permission?
Wednesday, January 5th, 2005
Categorized as: Cashing in US Savings Bonds
My son was owner of some Savings Bonds and his dad was co-owner. What happens if his dad took the Savings Bonds and cashed them without my son's signature? Can he do that? And what can I do to get his money back?
Tom's response
As far as the US Treasury is concerned, either co-owner of a Savings Bond can cash it without the knowledge or permission of the other co-owner.
However, if there was an understanding between your son, his dad, and you that the bonds belonged to your son, you should discuss the situation with your lawyer.
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My 11 year old daughter has approximately $1,300 in savings bonds where I am the POD. We are in the process of being evicted from our apartment and this money could help to keep her in a private school that I have paid for since the kindergarden. Is there any circumstance where we can cash the savings bonds?
Hi Joyce - since you are the custodial parent, you can cash the bonds by signing for your daughter. The Savings Bonds have to have been issued more than a year ago.
Tom Adams
My 2 sons were listed as owner with me listed as co-owner on multiple Series EE bonds that were given as gifts from my parents. My sons are now 15 and 13 yrs old. I do not have the bonds. They were kept in my ex's safe after we got divorced and I assumed he would never touch them, as they were not his. I just found out my ex-husband MADE them sign the bonds and told them not to tell me anything about this. My sons told me their dad continually tells them he'll pay them back and is not making any attempt to do so, which is only to be expected. They do not remember the exact date they were cashed but it was around the Springtime 2007. Is there any way I can prove these were cashed because I intend to bring this issue to court. My attorney doesn't sound like she knows how to handle this situation. She told me to confront my ex and ask that he pay it back, which isn't going to happen. What are the laws for what he did, which is a crime in my opnion. My sons remember the amounts paid out to be $2,600 for my 15yr old and around $1,800 for my 13 yr old.
Hi Dianna - typically to get confirmation that a Savings Bond was cashed you'd need to have the bond's serial number.
However, in this case you may have a claim that the bonds were stolen by a non-custodial parent, in which case you may be able to get them replaced by the Treasury.
I recommend you follow the procedure for stolen Savings Bonds.
Tom Adams