Hi jubar,
Yes, you do have to send the bonds with the completed PD F 1851 form. But, no, you do not have to endorse the bonds before sending them since you are not redeeming them, you are just asking the federal government to reissue them in the name of the living trust.
Unfortunately, you cannot have a Federal Depository Bank reissue the bonds. As far as we know, the bonds must be reissued through the Department of the Treasury, Department of the Public Debt in Parkersburg, West Virginia. The actual address is P.O. Box 7012, Parkersburg, WV 26106-7012.
You should send the bonds to the Department of the Public Debt via registered or certified mail with a return receipt requested. That will give you some evidence that you sent the bonds. It's also a good idea to put the certified mail number on the PD F 1851 form so that you have proof that it relates directly to the bonds your transmitting. Even so, you should know that the Treasury will send your reissued bonds back to you via regular U.S. mail.
If the bonds are registered in the name of Patricia xxx or Martin xxx, they can be redeemed by either of them acting alone. That being the case, it follows that either of them can have the bonds transferred without the other's signature. However, I have not encountered that situation before and the Treasury's instructions don't address that issue. But, from a legal standpoint, there is no reason why the bonds can't be transferred with just your mom's signature.
One further point to keep in mind: You should use a separate PD F 1851 for each type of bond being transferred. Also, you shouldn't mix different denominations of bonds on the same PD F 1851; and, you shouldn't mix the ownership of bonds on a PD F 1851. For example, put all $100 I bonds on one PD F 1851 and all $50 I bonds on another. If some $100 I bonds are owned by H and W, jointly, and some $100 I bonds are owned by H or W, then a separate PD F 1851 form should be used for each type of ownership. Mixing types of bonds and denominations and ownership will cause the Treasury to send the bonds back to you without being reissued. That wastes both time and money.
Finally, in my experience, it takes about 6 to 8 weeks to get the reissued bonds back once you send them to the Treasury.
You should know, however, that I've talk to many people who have gone through the process of transferring bonds to a living trust, and each of them seems to have a little different take on it. So, if anyone has a particular story to tell about their experience in transferring bonds to a living trust, please consider posting it here. The more information we have, the better it is for everyone.
