My sister died Aug 6. Her SS deposited to her account on Aug 10,, i am co owner of her checking acct. Should I return the SS or will the bank do this?
Thanks, Jeanine

Hi Jeanine. I'm sorry for your loss. Actually, your sister was entitled to that check because it's her payment for July. However, since the deposit was made after her date of death it needs to be returned to Social Security so that it can be reissued to the person(s) who's eligible to receive the payment. You shouldn't need to return the payment yourself., though. All you should need to do is notify Social Security of your sister's death. Once Social Security posts her date of death to their system, it should put the wheels in motion to have the bank return the payment.

Meanwhile, you or someone else will need to fill out paperwork to initiate the process of getting your sister's final payment reissued to the proper person(s). Underpayments are payable in priority order to the spouse of the deceased, children of the deceased, parents of the deceased, or the executor of the deceased's estate. For more information on what needs to be done, refer to the following Social Security website: https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ssa-1724.html.

Best, Jerry