Stimulus checks for widows follow-up
Hi, Terry.
I am following up on your June 15, 2020 response to the widow of someone who died in 2019 and has not received her stimulus check. My father died in 2019. In March 2020, I filed a joint 2019 return for him and my stepmom. I figured the least confusing path to get my stepmom her stimulus money was to let the IRS direct deposit the full $2,400 for both of them and write a check back to the IRS for Dad’s $1,200. This was long before the dust-up hit the media about deceased people getting the money and the IRS requesting it back. My Dad worked for them for almost 30 yrs and I did for a year many moons ago, so I guess that gave me some insight on their path of least resistance. Haha! For a couple of months, the Get My Payment site showed payment was pending issuance via direct deposit. Now, it says it can’t give any info, with one of the possible explanations listed as not being eligible. I have searched their FAQs, IRS.gov and broadly across the Internet, and the only site I’ve found that talks about stimulus checks for surviving spouses is yours. My stepmom is elderly and anxious for her money, but Dad always handled everything for her and therefore she’s depending on me to resolve this situation. Thanks in advance for any help you are able to provide.
Terry Says
I just heard from the IRS last week with an update. The simple fact is that the minute they figured out they were sending out checks to deceased people (even on joint returns) they stopped distributing ALL money to joint returns after learning from SS that one was deceased.
This created a “class’ called “widows/widowers who didn’t receive stimulus checks.”
And, as I noted, just last week I was told that the IRS is now ready to send out all those checks — so she should receive it before Labor Day (fingers crossed!).
