What to do if a Hacienda check arrives for someone who has died

A refund check belongs to the person it was issued to, and that person can no longer endorse it. The endorsement is the procedure by which Hacienda authorises that money to reach whoever it belongs to now. It is not a bank matter: the bank cannot resolve it, and signing the check in the deceased person’s name is not a way out, it is a different and worse problem. What Hacienda asks for depends on the size of the check, because below $1,000 it accepts a sworn statement and above that it requires formal proof of who the heirs are.

It applies to whoever receives a check issued by Hacienda to someone who has died. Hacienda describes the procedure in terms of the person who receives the check, and its first instruction is to deliver it to the Claims Division. The practical dividing line is the amount: under $1,000 is resolved with the sworn Form SC 4505 and the death certificate; over $1,000 additionally requires an original declaration of heirs and/or a will. Bear in mind the declaration of heirs is a separate and not instantaneous procedure, so if your check is above the threshold it is worth starting it early.

• Delivering the check to the Claims Division. It is the first instruction Hacienda publishes for a refund check issued to a deceased person.Verified against the official source
• If the check is for less than $1,000: Form SC 4505, Application for Endorsement of Checks Issued to Deceased Person.Verified against the official source
• Form SC 4505 must be sworn before an attorney and carry an internal revenue stamp.Verified against the official source
• The original death certificate.Verified against the official source
• If the check is for more than $1,000: additionally, an original declaration of heirs and/or a will, together with the death certificate.Verified against the official source

• The original check you received.
• Form SC 4505 completed and sworn, with the internal revenue stamp.
• Original death certificate.
• Original declaration of heirs and/or will, when the check exceeds $1,000.

1. 1

   Step 1: Do not endorse it or try to deposit it

   The check is in the name of a person who can no longer sign it, and signing for them is not a shortcut. The route Hacienda publishes starts the opposite way from what people attempt: the check is delivered to the Claims Division and the endorsement is requested. The bank does not resolve this and should not try.

2. 2

   Step 2: Look at the amount: that decides the route

   It is the first thing to establish, because the two routes look nothing alike. Below $1,000, the process rests on Form SC 4505 and the death certificate. Above $1,000, Hacienda additionally requires an original declaration of heirs and/or the will. The declaration of heirs is a separate procedure and takes time, so knowing which side of the threshold you are on before starting saves weeks of going in circles.

3. 3

   Step 3: Get the original death certificate

   Hacienda asks for the original, not a copy. The certificate is issued by the Demographic Registry, and requesting it is a procedure of its own with its own guide. Ask for more than one certified copy if you can: in an estate several are usually needed at once for different matters, and going back for another later costs another trip.

4. 4

   Step 4: Swear the SC 4505 before an attorney and add the stamp

   These are two requirements Hacienda mentions expressly and that people discover late: the form must be sworn before an attorney, and it must carry an internal revenue stamp. Arriving with the form filled in but unsworn, or without the stamp, means going home empty-handed.

5. 5

   Step 5: Submit everything together at the Claims Division

   The check, the sworn and stamped SC 4505, the original death certificate, and — if it exceeds $1,000 — the declaration of heirs and/or will. Hacienda publishes neither a cost nor a resolution timeframe for the endorsement on this page, so keep a copy of everything you submit and note the date.

At the Claims Division of the Department of the Treasury, which is where Hacienda says to deliver a check issued to a deceased person. Form SC 4505 is downloaded from Hacienda’s own page on endorsement requests.

• Signing the check in the deceased person’s name.
• Taking it to the bank expecting it to be resolved there.
• Filling in the SC 4505 but not swearing it before an attorney.
• Presenting it without the internal revenue stamp.
• Bringing a copy of the death certificate when Hacienda asks for the original.
• Assuming a check over $1,000 is resolved with the form alone, without a declaration of heirs.
• Starting the declaration of heirs late, when it is the part that takes longest.
• Leaving the check in a drawer for months instead of delivering it to the Claims Division.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Departamento de Hacienda de Puerto Rico

  Hacienda

  hacienda.pr.gov

• Returned refund checks (Hacienda)

  Departamento de Hacienda

  hacienda.pr.gov