I highly recommend the Clark team do a little research on treasury direct customer support (an important part of any financial transaction!) My Aunt passed away with three bonds in treasury direct digital format (the only way you can buy bonds now). I need to get into her account to access the bonds (find out their numbers, how much they are etc.) so the estate can sell them. THERE IS NO PERSON TO TALK TO WHEN YOU HAVE AN ISSUE LIKE THIS! After 6 hours on the phone going to ground on every prompt (at least 60 in total) they have, I was finally told that they have no people who can answer the phone directly. They direct you to send an email. First set up your own account, then send them a private email on their site. I did that. An automated response comes back the next day. "WE are so sorry for the delay, but due to high email request volumes, you can expect a response from us IN 6 MONTHS.
Our country is going bankrupt. China and Japan are dumping treasury bonds like water. We need to sell these things internally and this is the way they treat the customers, who they want to purchase their bonds? Really is unbelievable. I challenge ANYONE to come up with a worse customer no service response ANYWHERE. My next step is to contact my Congressman. I couldn’t make this stuff up.
It’s beyond awful, you are right. Did your Aunt leave you with any information about the bonds at all? The account number? Do you know what email address she might have used? Did she name anyone with survivorship rights to the bonds? (that’s one way you can buy them, is with “with rights of survivorship - so-and-so”.
I’m thinking maybe it’s time for the actual Executor of the estate to send a hardcopy letter via certified mail with return receipt so you have proof of delivery. Send death certificate, photocopies of her identifying documents incl SocSec card, her email address, a copy of the Will or Trust appointing the Executor / Trustee, copies of their identifying documents, and just ask them to liquidate the account and send the proceeds back to your Aunt’s bank… do not close this bank account! It has to stay open to receive TreasuryDirect funds.
Maybe something will happen. It cannot hurt. I would not try to hack into her account, though. That’s a security violation, and they might refuse to talk to you forever. If they see someone trying to get in after her death date, they’ll shut the account down forever.
Treasury Retail Securities Services, PO Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150
I have her account number. I do not have her password or her verify questions. I do not have the bond numbers. Just a hand written audit of her finances, put together by her with bonds mentioned but no bond numbers. There are No survivors or beneficiaries so they, by law, belong to the probated estate. The bank will not accept any checks issued to her name. Because she cannot endorse the checks. They must be made out to “The estate of…” which the executor can sign. How do you get treasury to issue the proceeds “to the estate of”, without talking to a person? I am the executor.
By the way you need a doctorate in US savings bonds to even attempt to navigate the treasury direct website, it’s extremely confusing…
If you hate your executor and want to totally mess him/her up after you die…then buy a US savings bond on treasury direct!!!
Well, the usual way to redeem these things is by ACH electronic banks transfer directly back to the funding account, so there is no “endorsing” involved. Yeah, your story is daunting — I am definitely putting a date on the calendar to decide whether to keep my account up or shut it down. When my EE bonds mature and double in the year 2040, I think I’ll just pack it in and call it a day (I’ll be 78 at that time). I can’t even get my paper bonds converted to electronic form, they say it will take 16 weeks. I’m thinking… no more conversions, I’ll retain paper bonds which I get as a tax refund for “diversification” if you want to call it that.
I’m so sorry you are going through this. I’m going through a mini-hell with Treasury Direct just trying to get my bank account set up with them, they advised me this could take several months…
I’ve learned from your experience, thanks! Not going to proceed with Treasury Direct. It’s just not worth the trouble and I love my designated executor.
Yup cash it out if you’re entering the later chapters of life…
Yes I have about $1,000 in I-Bonds. I’ll cash them out as soon as inflation declines
When I had questions for TD, I emailed them – there is a link in the help section. They got back to me and everything worked fine (a different situation than yours). I suggest emailing them rather than trying to call. Good luck.
Sounds like you do need to contact your Senator or Congressman …so sorry you are having so much trouble on something that should be simple!
Ive been struggling with them as well. On which page is the email link? I must have missed that.
Not only is the story horrible but I find it fascinating, because of the Yuge contrast in treatment I received about 4 years ago from Treasury people. Notice how nice I am being and not calling them Bureau Rats!
You see late wife had taken out US Swindling Bonds decades earlier, and had a POD on them, with that POD being her X. She didn’t know where they were and I only found out when shoveling out her belongings. Wow about $900 worth of them!
Well, since she croaked and they had a POD, they could NOT go to estate and definitely not to me even though we were married for 32 years. I should have just shredded them, but I did the right thing and inquired of the Treasury department; Halp! What now!
Day or so later I get a nice email back explaining that if named POD croaked before she did, estate would get them. Otherwise he or his estate would. Being such a nice guy I assisted them by providing years in which there would have been a tax confession with his 'n hers. Up to them to find the guy.
What do you know, they did find him. He got the money and I got no thanks. He should have paid me for putting up with her for 32 years. But Treasury Dept was phenomenal. Quite a contrast, eh?
Unfortunately, I got an email response that they are only doing cases (w/ case #) by email. So I had to call.
I was on hold for quite a while, but I got through. I got the answers I needed and I asked why the wait time/email service was so bad–it never was before. The customer rep said they have been swamped since interest rates have gone up (and stocks down) with people making new accounts! Even though you can do this online (I did, no problem), lots of people call in for help – understandable, especially people who aren’t comfortable with computers.
So the wait time now (which I never saw before) is because of the current economy!!
Most info is there on the website in the “help” section, except the questions I had – I wanted to leave instructions for my beneficiaries so they know what to do just in case. The forms are on the website, but I would never have known that, or the procedures.
It’s supply and demand right now. TD is swamped with new accounts and people calling in because of interest rates going up! I’ve called and emailed before (when rates were low) and it was never like this! So it’s temporary.
I just logged in no problem
My paper I-Bonds just took 9 weeks to convert. It used to be three, before everyone and their brother started talking about I-Bonds. Some of mine are paying 7.64%
some bonds I purchased in 2001 are now 11.72% (after years of paying basically the fixed rate!). I bought them via payroll deduction, which was nice.