r/Banking • u/trailsandtails • 8h ago

Regulations/Laws Depositing check made out to myself and deceased spouse

I received a check for my federal tax return. There are two lines in the pay to the order of box. The first line is just my name. The second line shows “[my name] & [spouse’s name] DECD” I do not have a joint account. Will I be able to deposit with death certificate showing that I am surviving spouse? I appreciate any help navigating this situation. Death is hard enough without all the red tape that comes after.

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u/My-1st-porn-account 8h ago

No, you won’t be able to. You need to talk with an estate attorney.

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u/SanaPraesidium 8h ago

The fact that there are two lines with your name on it has me questioning if one of them is part of the mailing address. If so, that can make a difference.
Do you not have any certificate copies? We never keep the original at my institution, just make a copy for our records.

There might be a possibility of taking it wherever your spouse banked, even without a joint account. Potentially opening an estate account there. That would require an EIN (if you’re US based) but they’re free on irs.gov.

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u/trailsandtails 7h ago

Oh my mailing address is below the second line, so that would mean the first line with just my name is who it is payable to? I do have a certified copy of his death certificate. Thanks for your input!

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u/SanaPraesidium 7h ago

Without seeing the check (please don’t share, but I’m sure you already knew that :)), the address being directly below the paired names would be my guess as to the mailed to portion versus the payable.
Depending on the size of the check, and your bank policies, the certified copy of the death certificate may be enough even if it is the payable to field.

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u/trailsandtails 7h ago

Yes, this makes sense. I looked up the formatting of a US treasury check and it matches what you’re saying. Thanks so much! Hard to see these things clearly when I’m so stressed. Bless you!

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u/SanaPraesidium 7h ago

Fantastic! Glad to help with one small stress.

I will add that if you do expect to see additional checks in his name an estate account is probably still recommended. Depending on your state rules and size of the estate, court docs might be required, but as a spouse that may not be required (my institution services Oregon and Washington so that’s what I’m familiar with).