Stimulus Cash Is Being Sent to Dead People. Their Loved Ones Can Probably Keep It.

Jeanne Siracuse didn't know what to do when she got a notification this week that $1,200 had been deposited into her mother's account. Her mother died last August.

"Obviously, she does not need stimulus right now," Siracuse said by phone from her home in Northern Virginia. "It's not something she would have wanted to happen. She was very conservative and would not want to see that kind of waste."

Relatives of dead Americans all over the country are receiving coronavirus relief payments from the U.S. Treasury Department on behalf of the loved ones this week. Many are confused. Was it a mistake? Are they required to send it back? Some of them have already tried to. Either way, they can rest easy.

The U.S. government plans to allow heirs or spouses of dead people to keep the money, a source familiar with the matter said. A Treasury spokesperson declined to comment but said guidance on the matter is forthcoming.