Update: Yesterday, May 6, 2020, the Treasury Department officially announced that stimulus checks that had been made out to deceased taxpayers should be returned to the IRS.

If the checks were sent by mail, they should be voided and sent back to the IRS.  If the payments were made via direct deposit, the taxpayer should write a check to the government and send it in.

For further information, visit the IRS website “Q41. What should I do to return an Economic Impact Payment (EIP)? (added May 6, 2020)  www.irs.gov/coronavirus/economic-impact-payment-information-center#more.

We’ve been fielding inquiries lately from clients whose relatives have died in the past two years, and they received a stimulus check.  They are asking us what to do with the check.

Here’s one example, “As I told you, I just received a call from my sister regarding a check that her husband, the personal representative of his mother’s estate, just received. His mother has been dead almost two years. We are handling her probate.”

In an article in The Wall Street Journal on April 28, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said deceased people aren’t eligible for the $1,200 stimulus checks they’ve been getting, and their relatives and estates should pay the money back to the government.  “We’re checking the databases,” he said, “but there could be a scenario where we missed something, and, yes, the heirs should be returning the money.”

President Trump told reporters, “Sometimes you send a check to somebody wrong. Sometimes people are listed, they die, they get a check. That can happen.  We’ll get that back. Everything we’re going to get back.”

There does not seem to be a plan yet for returning the money. Some tax experts believe that relatives don’t have to return the money. The question is, will the IRS enforce the “clawback.” Congress may have to get involved.

For now, we’re suggesting that you not spend the money. You might have to deal with the federal government coming after you for repayment.

Sanders Law Group focuses on Elder Law, Estate Planning and Probate.  We’re located in downtown Edmonds.  425-640-8686.