Any American receiving a stimulus check for someone who has died prior to receiving the payment is required to return that check to the federal government.
IRS virus guidelines state the following:
Does someone who has died qualify for the payment (of a stimulus check)?
No. A payment made to someone who died before receipt of the payment should be returned to the IRS by following the instructions in the “instructions in the Q&A about repayments.”
“Return the entire payment unless the payment was made to joint filers and one has not died before the receipt of the payment, in which case, (taxpayers) only need to return the portion of the payment made on account of the decedent,” IRS website instructions explain.
The IRS link for returning such payments is https:// www.irs.gov/coronavirus/ economic-impact-payment- information-center#more.