Last night, when I sorted through my daily mail, I noticed a piece of mail from the government addressed to my aunt, deceased % Michael J. Yadron. I looked at it and thought, “I know that I paid her final taxes and estate taxes last month and I thought I owed both the federal and state government. Is she getting a refund?”
No. She wasn’t getting a refund. My aunt, dead for ten months now but filing taxes last year, received her $1,200 stimulus check. It isn’t stimulating enough to bring her back to life, though.
I went online to see how these checks could be returned. Article after article said that there is no provision to “clawback” these checks and that the recipients should just go ahead and keep them. I really appreciated the stimulus deposit that I received last month in my bank account. But, there was no way that I would feel right keeping my aunt’s check, even though it was made out to me as her trustee.
Then, this morning, when I went back to the office to ponder what to do, I noticed the outside of the envelope. There was a box next to the postmark with the instructions, “If recipient is deceased, check box and put in mail.”
Done.
The stimulus check is on its way back home where it will probably disappear in a black hole of accounting. But, at least, my conscience is clear.
I hope my aunt would be proud of me even though I could practically hear her saying to me, “Keep it. You deserve it.” 🙂
