u/RetiredHomeEcTchr

Aunt (Mass. resident) passed in 2022. No spouse, no children. She was predeceased by her parents, younger brother, then younger sister. She was survived by 7 nieces/nephews. No will, no assets, nothing to probabte.

In 2025, oldest survivor, nephew, passed. Then, bonds in aunt's names were found. Nephew, also Mass resident, had no real property; no will, and nothing possessed to have to probate. Nephew had already transferred all financial responsibility for paying bills to his only so.

Treasury Dept states that only blood relatives can make a claim to the unclaimed bonds. Does deceased nephew forfeit his share (he would have received it if he lived), or does it go to his widow or his son, or 50-50 to both?

I have tried to wade through Mass. law, but I'm overwhelmed.

Inheritance amount is ~$1,000. Interest is about $700, principal on bond ~ $300. Tax liability is on interest, which could impact recipient.

I'm stuck trying to figure out if nephew is still entitled to portion of bonds; he was alive when aunt died, but is now deceased after bonds were found and can be processed. If proceeds go to nephew's survivors, IN MASSACHUSETTS, who do they go to ? Spouse? Child? or 50-50. I just want to do what's right.

Thank you.

EDIT TO BODY OF POST: Sorry for not anticipating your questions. Total of Bonds is just under $7K (USD), so less than $1K per niece/nephew if redemption value of bonds was distributed to each when aunt died. So, nephew who passed would have received just under $1K.

Nephew's son is 40 (42?). An adult, who handled his father's financial responsibilities for the last few months (years?) of his life. He had signing authority on the bank account to pay all household bills and such. Nephew and widow rented, owned no property. Anything that could have been disputed by the state was already transferred/dealt with so as to avoid probate. Nephew knew he was going to pass (cancer, brain tumor).

I am not sure if there was an "Executor" of the estate. If there was, it would have been the son of the aunt's nephew.

Both aunt and nephew passed intestate. I've read that when that happens, 50% goes to spouse, 50% goes to any descendants of the decedent. I'm stuck because the Treasury papers say only blood relatives can inherit, and spouse is not a blood relative, but had the bonds been processed when the nephew was alive, he would have received the proceeds. If he died the day after the proceeds were distributed, then it would not be my problem. But, that didn't happen.

I just want to do what is right. I'm on a time crunch, too, but given the amount (less than $1K), I don't want to hire an attorney to tell me what to do.

Maybe I should just contact the widow and great nephew and ask them what they want?

Thank you to all who are weighing in and posting. I truly appreciate your time and input.

Hello. Cleo and Sophie have COTRB, and I miss them both dearly. Cleo (1988-2010; Sophie 2009-2025) Both guarded me greatly when with me and protected me like no others.

Today, I saw something that made me miss them even more than I have. Their old hooman (me) was sitting in her chair (OK, their chair that they shared with me over the years), when I saw something ? move? jump? materialize as a shadow?. I was looking at my computer, the same one I am typing on now.

As if they were with me, my legs were stretched out in front of me on the ottoman (the big skware cushun on feet that 'lowd Cleo and Sophie to stretch out comf'tably). That's' when I saw it! It was big and dark. Think Daddy Long Legs. It was bigger than that, thicker than that, and darker than that.

It ? glided ? off the ottoman like it was airborne, and across the room all of 6 feet and then vanished. Into thin air. Into the parallel dimension?

I screamed. I did not hear Cleo or Sophie jump from across the bridge into this dimension. I looked around me to see if something could have made a shadow like that. (Nothing that I could see.) It did not go completely across the space from the ottoman to the wall. It vanished about 4 " before it got to that point.

As far as I could see, it didn't ever actually touch the floor, either, but it seemed to scramble like it was walking. It made no noise, and I only saw it as I happened to move my head slightly and saw it on my right, at the very instant it appeared to have jumped from behind my laptop to the floor from the ottoman.

I felt nothing on my legs/feet as it appeared to have leapt off the ottoman. It made no noise. It appeared to be a spider in form, but again, I've never seen one float in the air above the carpet and move like that for a good 5.5 feet, while being inches off the floor.

It was too late for dreamerlies, as it was about 7:30 this morning. (Dreamerlies, as far as I know, only appear at dusk and dawn, and are only seen by felines. They are like shadows, and only crepuscular animals can actually see them, so it's possible other animals besides felines can see them, but I've only known cats to do so.)

I have no idea what this was. I am hoping there are some felines here who can channel my Cleo and Sophie and tell them what I saw, and request that they keep an eye on me (and tell them I miss them).

I am also hoping the International Crew here can share some insight as to what I may have seen. I had already had one cup of coffee, so caffeine was the only drug I was on.

Thank you in advance. Cleo and Sophie's Meowmy.

Not a mother, and my MIL has passed, but was never like this (to the best of my knowledge). Not sure how she was with her own two daughters though, as the oldest once asked me if ever I had children could she be present during the birth.

But WHAT IS IT with MILs (or any other adult) with their need to be observe the diaper change ?what? to examine the genitalia of the infant? Are they needing confirmation of the sex/gender? I (kind of) remember all the great aunties flocking to watch my younger sister get her diaper changed and being asked to join (I was 7) and thought "Ew. No thanks." Was I wrong?

And observing nursing? I was taught that was private. My mother would take my sister into her bedroom. I was asked once to accompany my mother. She explained what she was doing, but after that, I never accompanied her. I never desired to. And for many months, I knew what my mother was doing, never interrupted her nor joined her. Also, my mother never once thought to just nurse my sister in the living room, or kitchen, or whatever. She always did it privately.

And be present for the birth? Um. Again, not a mother, but had ever I been one, I think (first) if anyone, my spouse, then my mother, then (only if the others couldn't be there for my support), my sister. Then, I figure, I'd be on my own if no one else could show up. I never felt close enough to my MIL or SIL to consider them. And I feel my MIL and SILs were all easy to get along with people.

So, trying to understand all the posts, and hoping someone who is the MIL or SIL might enlighten me, or even the grieving individual suffering the familial connection. (Husband or Wife)