Power of attorney for Savings Bonds

My dad has some Savings Bonds that he would like to cash in. The problem is that he is in the hospital with kidney failure and can't go to a bank. How does one go about doing this?

Tom's response

Some smaller community banks will send their certifying officer to the hospital to help with this.

If that's not possible, then you can get a Power of Attorney from him so you can handle the transaction. However, for this to work, the Power of Attorney document has to specifically mention Savings Bonds.

The Treasury has a form, Durable Power of Attorney for Securities and Savings Bonds Transactions, which works great for this.

Your dad's signature will still have to be notarized, but compared to a bank certification, this is easier to get inside a hospital.

In this case, however, only a Federal Reserve Bank can redeem the bonds. Moveover, you will still have to have your signature certified by a bank.

Often the bank that certifies your signature will send the bonds to a Federal Reserve Bank for you, but if yours declines, you can send them in for redemption yourself. Include a letter explaining your situation, how the redemption check should be made out, and where it should be be sent.

Click here for the address of Federal Reserve banks that handle Savings Bond transactions.