Does a POA have the right to cash US Savings Bonds without specific reference to US Bonds in the POA document? If the Bureau of Public Debt has cashed those bonds, what recourse does the POD on the bonds have to recover the money?
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Many power of attorney documents include language that provides broad authority to transact financial business on behalf of the principal. Whether a given power of attorney conveyed the authority to cash savings bonds would be best determined by an attorney or a court. If the Bureau of the Public Debt cashed the bonds based on the power of attorney, it is pretty certain that it felt that the power of attorney had appropriate language.
A payable on death (POD) payee on a bond only has an interest in the bond if the original payee or an agent or attorney in fact has not cashed them during his/her lifetime. In the case you ask about, if the cashing of the bonds was legitimate, the POD payee has no recourse.
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Many power of attorney documents include language that provides broad authority to transact financial business on behalf of the principal. Whether a given power of attorney conveyed the authority to cash savings bonds would be best determined by an attorney or a court. If the Bureau of the Public Debt cashed the bonds based on the power of attorney, it is pretty certain that it felt that the power of attorney had appropriate language.