A savings bond changes hands in a divorce only under a divorce decree that ratifies or confirms a property settlement disposing of the bond (31 CFR 353.22(a)).
Treasury then reissues the bond or pays it. A decree more than 6 months old when the bond is presented needs a clerk's certificate dated within 6 months (31 CFR 353.23(a)).
In November 2026, only paper EE bonds issued January 1997 or later and paper I bonds can still be reissued; electronic bonds are transferred, and other paper bonds are paid.
This page is part of our guide to savings bonds after death. ClaimMyBonds is a private independent guide, not the government, and the forms are free from TreasuryDirect.
What Happens to Savings Bonds in a Divorce?
A savings bond stays with the people named on it until Treasury receives a decree that disposes of it. Treasury then reissues the bond to the spouse entitled or pays it, whichever is requested (31 CFR 353.22(a)). The rule adds: "Payment, rather than reissue, will be made if requested."
| Bond | What the decree can do | Form | Signer and certification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper EE issued January 1997 or later, paper I | Reissue to the entitled spouse (electronic, one name) or payment | FS Form 4000 (Rev. April 2026) | Entitled person; notary or certifying officer |
| Paper E, HH, Savings Notes, EE issued before January 1997 | Payment only | FS Form 1522 (Rev. April 2026) | Entitled person; certification above $1,000 total current redemption value |
| Electronic EE and I in TreasuryDirect | Transfer to the other spouse's account | FS Form 5511 (Rev. March 2026) | Account owner; certifying officer only |
| Bond co-owned with a third person | Reissue or payment of the spouse's interest only | FS Form 4000 or FS Form 1522 | Plus the third person's request or a judgment binding both |
Source: 31 CFR 353.22, 353.23, 353.45(b), 363.45(c) (eCFR as of November 9, 2026); FS Forms 4000 and 1522 (Rev. April 2026), FS Form 5511 (Rev. March 2026).
The divorce court, not Treasury, decides under state law whether a bond is marital or separate property. Treasury only carries out the decree. Ask the divorce attorney who is entitled to each bond before you send anything to Treasury. The table above shows the 4 routes.
Which Savings Bonds Can Still Be Reissued After a Divorce in November 2026
As of November 2026, only paper EE bonds issued January 1997 or later and paper I bonds can still be reissued after a divorce.
A bond at final maturity, or within one full calendar month of it, can only be cashed (31 CFR 353.45(b)). Final maturity is the date a bond stops earning interest. The list shows the 3 groups.
- Series EE savings bonds: paper issues January 1997 to December 2011 qualify; January 1997 issues only if Treasury receives the request at least one full calendar month before January 1, 2027; December 1996 issues reach final maturity on December 1, 2026 and are already inside the cut-off; January 1980 to November 1996 issues are cash only
- Series I savings bonds: every paper I bond still earns; the first, issued September 1998, reaches final maturity in September 2028
- Series E, Series HH and Savings Notes: all at final maturity (when savings bonds mature), cash only
Series E, Series I and Electronic Bonds: Where the Divorce Rules Differ
Three differences set these bonds apart from paper EE. Series E and older bonds follow the same rule in 31 CFR 315.22, but every Series E bond stopped earning interest by June 2010, so a decree leads only to payment.
Paper I bonds follow 31 CFR 360.22, titled "Payment or reissue pursuant to divorce." Electronic bonds follow 31 CFR 363.45(c).
A Series I owner may name a new owner only for a divorce or annulment or a personal trust (31 CFR 360.47(a)). An EE owner may also name relatives (31 CFR 353.47(a)). Series HH, which reached final maturity by August 1, 2024, and Savings Notes are payment only.
What a Divorce Decree Must Show Before Treasury Acts on Savings Bonds
Treasury needs up to 3 documents with a divorce decree (31 CFR 353.22(a), 353.23(a)). The first is always a certified copy of the final decree. The other 2 depend on the decree's age and content, and the table shows each situation and the rule behind it.
| Situation | What to send | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Decree 6 months old or less | Certified copy of the final decree | 353.23(a) |
| Decree older than 6 months when the bond is presented | Plus a clerk's certificate under the court's seal, dated within 6 months of presentation, showing the decree is in full force | 353.23(a) |
| Decree omits the settlement terms | Plus a certified copy of the settlement agreement | 353.22(a), 363.45(c) |
| Bond co-owned with a third person | That person's reissue request or a certified judgment in proceedings to which both were parties | 353.22(a) |
| Payment wanted instead of reissue | Ask for payment in the request | 353.22 |
Source: eCFR part 353 (as of November 9, 2026); FS Form 4000 (Revised April 2026).
The decree must dispose of the bonds or settle the parties' interests in them. Section 353.22(a) speaks of "a divorce decree that ratifies or confirms a property settlement agreement disposing of bonds or that otherwise settles the interests of the parties in a bond."
The 6 months is the decree's age and the certificate's date, never a filing deadline.
The FS Form 4000 signature needs certification before a notary or certifying officer. The rules on savings bond signature certification explain who may certify. Treasury does not return legal evidence you submit, so keep copies of every document.
Reissuing Savings Bonds to One Spouse After a Divorce
A spouse awarded a paper EE or I bond has it reissued with FS Form 4000 (Rev. April 2026), signing as the entitled person, meaning the spouse the decree gives the bond to. Treasury reissues the bond as an electronic bond in that spouse's TreasuryDirect account, in one name. The 5 steps are listed below.
- Check that each bond still earns interest and is not within one full calendar month of final maturity.
- Open a TreasuryDirect account in your own name if you have none (login runs through ID.me since October 28, 2026).
- Complete FS Form 4000 as the entitled person and sign it in ink before a notary or certifying officer.
- Mail the form, the paper bonds and the decree evidence to Treasury Retail Securities Services, P.O. Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150.
- Keep copies, because Treasury does not return legal evidence you submit.
Treasury has made no paper reissue since February 14, 2014 (31 CFR 353.48(a), 360.48(a)), so you never receive a new paper bond. A secondary owner or beneficiary can be added in TreasuryDirect afterwards, but not a new co-owner. ClaimMyBonds never opens or accesses TreasuryDirect accounts. Our guide to FS Form 4000 gives the item-by-item instructions.
Cashing Savings Bonds Under a Divorce Decree Instead of Reissue
A spouse entitled under a decree can ask Treasury to pay the bond instead of reissuing it.
Payment is the only option for Series E, Series HH, Savings Notes and EE bonds issued before January 1997, because bonds at or within one full calendar month of final maturity cannot be reissued (31 CFR 353.45(b)). FS Form 4000 is not a payment form.
Use FS Form 1522 (Rev. April 2026), signed by the owners or others entitled under the regulations. Mail it with the bonds and the decree evidence to Treasury Retail Securities Services, P.O. Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150. Treasury pays by direct deposit only, and certification is needed only above $1,000 total current redemption value.
TreasuryDirect lists 3 months or longer for cashing paper bonds in your name and 5 months or longer for transactions not in your name (as of November 11, 2026). No listed category names divorce. How to fill it out is covered in our guide to FS Form 1522.
Electronic Savings Bonds in TreasuryDirect After a Divorce
Treasury recognizes a divorce decree that disposes of an electronic savings bond in TreasuryDirect (31 CFR 363.45(c)), with a certified settlement agreement if the decree omits its terms. On FS Form 5511 (Rev. March 2026), whose grounds include a divorce decree and a property settlement agreement, each bond moves whole to the other spouse's account.
A certifying officer signs FS Form 5511, because the form states: "Notary certification is not acceptable." Other final orders count only if consistent with Part 363 and the owner was a party (31 CFR 363.45(d)). Our guide to electronic savings bonds covers TreasuryDirect accounts.
The account owner can also transfer an electronic bond, or a portion of at least $25, online to the other spouse's TreasuryDirect account. This route requires a divorce decree or property settlement agreement (31 CFR 363.55(a)), and the owner certifies online.
Co-Owner, POD Beneficiary and Third-Party Savings Bonds in a Divorce
Three registrations need care in a divorce: co-owner bonds, POD bonds and bonds a spouse co-owns with a third person. Between spouses, a decree may remove one spouse or substitute the other (31 CFR 353.22(a)).
Without a decree, both co-owners sign a reissue, except that one may sign alone to remove only his or her own name (31 CFR 353.51).
A POD beneficiary, named to receive the bond at the owner's death, has no rights while the owner lives (31 CFR 353.38).
An EE or I owner removes or changes the beneficiary without consent (31 CFR 353.51, 360.51). Series E needs certified consent or proof of death (31 CFR 315.51), but Series E cannot be reissued now.
A third person, for example a parent, may co-own a bond with one spouse. Treasury then needs that person's reissue request or a certified judgment in proceedings to which both were parties, and it acts only on the spouse's interest (31 CFR 353.22(a)).
The rules for POD savings bonds show how an owner changes a beneficiary without consent.
While the Divorce Is Pending: Who Can Cash and What Treasury Will Not Do
Treasury does not accept a notice of an adverse claim or of pending proceedings against a savings bond (31 CFR 353.20(c)). Writing to Treasury therefore does not freeze a bond during a divorce. Either co-owner of an "OR" bond may cash it alone, and the other then loses the interest in it (31 CFR 353.37).
Rights are fixed when Treasury, a Federal Reserve Bank or a paying agent (a bank that cashes paper bonds) receives the bond with a request for payment (31 CFR 353.43). Ask the divorce attorney how the court handles bonds while the case is pending, since Treasury will not.
Dividing Savings Bonds in a Divorce Settlement: Whole Bonds and Current Value
A settlement assigns whole paper savings bonds, because a paper bond cannot be split between 2 people (31 CFR 353.48(b)). Electronic bonds can move in part online (31 CFR 363.55(a)).
Our savings bond calculator, built on Treasury's published value files, prices a bond by issue month and face value. The table shows 4 bonds in redemption month November 2026.
| Bond | Face | Value, November 2026 | Still earning? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 Series EE savings bond value: EE, January 1997 | $100 | $126.60 | Yes (note 1) |
| 2005 Series EE savings bond value: EE, June 2005 | $1,000 | $1,050.80 | Yes, to June 1, 2035 |
| 2010 Series EE savings bond value: EE, January 2010 | $100 | $61.28 | Yes (note 2) |
| 1975 Series E savings bond value: E, January 1975 | $100 | $526.28 | No (note 3) |
Note 1: final maturity January 1, 2027; reissue only if received at least one full calendar month before. Note 2: to January 1, 2040; below face value. Note 3: stopped January 2005; payment only. Source: Fiscal Data, Savings Bonds Value Files (redemption month November 2026, updated November 2, 2026), https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/datasets/savings-bond-value-files/.
Values change on the 1st of each month. The January 1997 bond is worth $126.60 in November and December 2026 and $128.64 from January 1, 2027. The valuation date for a settlement is for the parties to set, not Treasury.
Taxes When Savings Bonds Change Owner in a Divorce
Interest not yet reported becomes taxable to the spouse who bought the bond with his or her own funds in the year it is reissued to a former spouse. IRS Publication 550 (2025) states this rule for transfers incident to a divorce that do not involve community property.
FS Form 4000 (Revised April 2026) carries the same warning: "THE OBLIGATION TO REPORT THE INTEREST CANNOT BE TRANSFERRED TO SOMEONE ELSE THROUGH A REISSUE TRANSACTION." At an electronic reissue, Treasury reports the interest earned so far on a Form 1099-INT.
In community property, each spouse reports half the interest when filing separately (Publication 550 (2025)). The transfer rule is stated for property outside community property, so those owners ask a tax professional. Savings bond interest is exempt from state and local income tax (31 U.S.C. 3124(a)).
Otherwise, federal tax falls in the year the bond is cashed or reaches final maturity, whichever comes first, unless the owner reports the interest every year (26 U.S.C. 454; Publication 550 (2025)).
Our guide to taxes on savings bond interest covers the federal side. The education exclusion on Form 8815 is not available when married filing separately (Form 8815 (2025)).
Court Orders Other Than a Divorce Decree
Besides a divorce decree, Treasury acts on 3 kinds of court process against a savings bond and refuses 2 others (31 CFR 353.20 to 353.22). Parts 315 and 360 contain parallel rules. The table shows what Treasury does with each.
| Court process | What Treasury does | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Divorce decree | Reissue or payment | 353.22(a), 315.22(a), 360.22(a), 363.45(c) |
| Gift causa mortis (a gift made in expectation of death) found by a court | Payment or reissue to the donee; Parts 353 and 315 (EE, HH, E and older series), not Part 360 (Series I) | 353.22(b), 315.22(b) |
| Levy, including an IRS levy against either co-owner | Payment only, no reissue, up to the redemption value 60 days after the proceedings end | 353.21(a) |
| Bankruptcy trustee, receiver or similar court officer | Payment at current redemption value | 353.21(b) |
| Notice of adverse claim or pending proceedings | Not accepted | 353.20(c) |
| Judgment impairing survivorship | Not recognized | 353.20 |
| TreasuryDirect, other final orders | Only if consistent with Part 363 and the owner was a party | 363.45(d) |
Source: eCFR parts 353, 315, 360 and 363 (as of November 9, 2026).
Treasury does not recognize a court order that impairs a survivor's rights (31 CFR 353.20(a)). In Free v. Bland, 369 U.S. 663 (1962), the Supreme Court held that survivorship rules override inconsistent Texas community property law, except in cases of fraud or breach of trust.
The decree rule is never a route for other disputes, so ask the attorney in the case.
Divorce and the Other Changes to a Savings Bond's Owners
A divorce is 1 of 3 grounds on which a living EE owner can name a new owner: a relative by blood, adoption or marriage, a party to a divorce or annulment, or a personal-trust trustee (31 CFR 353.47(a)). A name change leaves ownership untouched.
Name Changes After a Divorce
Returning to a former name changes only the signature, not the owner. Sign both names with the reason, as in "Mary Jones, Mary Smith (name changed due to divorce)" (TreasuryDirect), and no reissue is needed. The rules for cashing savings bonds after a name change cover the signature.
Moving Bonds From a Divorce Into a Trust
A spouse who receives paper bonds and wants them in a personal trust asks for a reissue to the trustee with FS Form 1851 (Rev.
April 2026); electronic bonds move with FS Form 5511. Trust requests take ten months or longer (TreasuryDirect, as of November 11, 2026). The rules for savings bonds and trusts cover both.
When a Former Spouse Is Still Named on the Bond at Death
If the owner dies while a former spouse is still co-owner or POD beneficiary, the former spouse becomes sole owner, and a will cannot change that (31 CFR 353.70(b)(1), (c)(1); 353.20(a)).
Whether an unpresented decree can be enforced later is not established; ask the estate's attorney. The savings bond co-owner rules explain the survivor's title, and POD savings bonds the beneficiary's.
Savings Bonds in Divorce FAQ
Can I Cash a Savings Bond That Is Not in My Name?
Only if you are entitled to it. A spouse awarded a bond under a decree is paid, or has it reissued, with the decree evidence; others need their own authority, such as a power of attorney, guardian or estate. See cashing savings bonds for someone else.
Can Bonds Be Jointly Owned?
Yes. A paper bond can name 2 co-owners joined by "OR", and either can cash it, while "AND" is not authorized. A decree can remove one of them. Learn how to read a savings bond to spot the registration.
What Happens to a Savings Bond if the Person Dies?
A surviving co-owner or POD beneficiary becomes sole owner, and a bond in the deceased person's name alone goes to the estate (31 CFR 353.70(a)). The guide to savings bonds after death covers each case.
Can a Divorce Decree Split One Savings Bond Between Two People?
A paper bond goes whole to one person, so a settlement divides the bonds, not each bond. Treasury does not reissue a bond only to change denominations (31 CFR 353.48(b)). An electronic bond can be transferred in part, from $25, to the other spouse's account (31 CFR 363.55(a)).