Finding out the giver of a Savings Bond
Tuesday, December 14th, 2004
Categorized as: Savings Bonds as gifts and prizes
I received a saving bond as a gift. How can I find out the person or persons who gave me the gift?
Tom’s response
I receive this question frequently, but the Treasury doesn’t have a system that has that information.
Is the Social Security Number on the Savings Bond yours? If so, that limits the giver to someone who knows your SSN.
If it’s not yours, it’s the SSN of the giver, which might give you something to go on.
Ask around; someone will take credit.
(Average rating: 2.50 stars)
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Tom Adams
What if your child has been gifted savings bonds, but they may have been mailed to the person who purchased them(not to the child’s address)or the parent is not even aware of them at all? Additionally, what if the gifter(and not the parent)is listed as a co-owner or POD on the child’s bonds they did receive?
We have been using food assistance since my husband was layed off, but now they are asking about children’s savings bonds and values. We believe we may not know of all bonds that could have been issued in our child’s name, because they were not mailed to our address, or may have been bought without our knowledge. I am assuming that the agency has access to this information that we may not. How do we find out? Will we be held accountable for bonds bought in our child’s name but not mailed to us, or that we were not told of by the buyer?
Sorry for so many questions.
Leigh – follow the process on my page about getting a list of your Savings Bonds. When you send the letter, include the names and Social Security Numbers of everyone in your family.
The list you get back is the same one the food assistance folks can get, so it gives you a place to start.
Note that it’s still possible for someone to have gifted your child a Savings Bond without using the child’s SSN. Gift givers are allowed to use their own SSN when buying gift bonds. So if that happened, those bonds wouldn’t be on this list. But those bonds aren’t part of your current problem with the food assistance request, either.
Tom Adams
I bought EE savings bonds many years ago for some friends children 12 years ago. There is a POD showing the mom’s name. We lost touch with them a couple years after I bought them and I have searched all avenues and cannot locate them.
I do not want these to go into never never land. And am not sure if these are in my name since I was the purchaser. How do I find out if these are under my name?
Teresa – since your name isn’t on the bonds they are not under your name. There is a tiny chance you could get your original payment refunded, but I doubt it, given how long it’s been since the bonds were issued. There’s no form for this, you should ask the Treasury whether it will allow this.
Tom Adams
I had taken out my check in 1978 and 1979 for saving bonds. Never receive any bonds from my employer they took the money out of my check. What recourse do I have?
Phyllis – Since bonds this old have stopped earning interest, you can use Treasury Hunt to see if they were purchased under your Social Security Number. In any case, you’ll have to file the lost bond form to get your money.
Tom Adams
WE HAVE PHOTO COPIES OF EE BONDS – – NOT THE ORIGINALS HOW CAN WE FIND OUT IF THESE WERE EVER CASHED??
Bob – see Have these bonds been cashed?.
Tom Adams
I have over l00 EE bonds with different final maturity. They are in my deceased husbands name and I being the beneficiary. Is it necessary I change them all into my name.
Gloria – it isn’t necessary to change them to your name but it’s advisable. For more info see:
How to update the registration when you are the beneficiary of Savings Bonds
and
A form for transactions involving many bonds
Tom Adams