<p>My D received a check from the estate of a deceased family member 6 months age. She has not cashed it as yet. How do we handle this on the CSS form?</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter whether she has cashed it or not, it is an asset she needs to report. (As would money hidden under the mattress be an asset.)</p>
<p>But why is she holding on to the check? Checks go stale, and some have a limit as short as six months. Even if it is good for a year, the executor can’t close the estate until all the checks have been cashed. As someone who has been an executor, it is a headache enough without needing to track people down to find out why they haven’t yet cashed the check.</p>