I just came across this useful web site by the US Treasury Department, so I thought I’d pass along the information: US Treasury– Death of a Bond Holder
The important thing that you should know is as follows:
- If only one person is named on a savings bond, and that person is deceased, the bond becomes the property of their estate.
- If both people named on a bond are deceased, the bond is the property of the estate of the person who died last.
- If one of two people named on a bond is deceased, the surviving person is automatically the owner as if that survivor had been the sole owner from the time the bond was issued.