The Bills Go On

Being an executor of an estate can be very frustrating, if you allow it to be. It's much easier if you have a good sense of humor. It has been interesting to see how all of my dad's junk mail has managed to be changed to my address. Every day my mailbox is filled with pleas for his money. If they include a stamped envelope for a reply, they get a reply from me that says "He is deceased, please take his name off your mailing address or change his address - to Heaven". It doesn't seem to work - the Republican Party is the worst at not purging their lists. Until we cut off his telephone, we continually found recorded messages from groups begging for money or offering him "free" services. I've continued to get medical bills for things already paid - I imagine some people just pay them again to try and stop the bills. However, the most interesting bill came last week - a bill rejected by his insurance for a charge of $75 ,for an EKG in a doctor's office in Lititz, on November of 2008 - for Aletha Kauffman! Now my mother has been dead for about 16 years but somebody is billing her for an EKG last year. Interesting. I couldn't just ignore this but nobody will admit it is their mistake. I also had trouble stopping dad's Juno bill and had to talk to several levels of management before getting that stopped - good record keeping and notes do help. Quite often there is a new development to brighten the day. But I guess I'm not alone. Here is a copy of an actual telephone conversation that I understand somebody had over a similar situation. A lady died this past January, and the bank billed her for February & March for their annual service charges on her credit card, and then added late fees & interest on the monthly charge. The balance had been $0.00, now it's somewhere around $60.00. A family member placed a call to the bank: Family Member: "I'm calling to tell you that she died in January." Bank: "The account was never closed and the late fees & charges still apply." Family Member: "Maybe you should turn it over to collections." Bank: "Since it is two months past due, it already has been." Family Member: "So, what will they do when they find out she is dead?" Bank: "Either report her account to the frauds division or report her to the credit bureau; maybe both!" Family Member: "Do you think God will be mad at her?" Bank: "Excuse me?" Family Member: "Did you just get what I was telling you . . . the part about her being dead?" Bank: "Sir, you'll have to speak to my supervisor" Supervisor gets on the phone. Family Member: "I'm calling to tell you she died in January." Bank: "The account was never closed and the late fees & charges still apply." Family Member: "You mean you want to collect from her estate?" Bank: (stammer) "Are you her lawyer?" Family Member: "No, I'm her great nephew." (lawyer info given) Bank: "Could you fax us a certificate of death?" Family Member: "Sure." (the fax number is given) After they get the fax ... Bank: "Our system just isn't setup for death. I don't know what more I can do to help." Family Member: "Well, if you figure it out, great! If not, you could just keep billing her. I don't think she will care." Bank: "Well, the late fees & charges do still apply." Family Member: "Would you like her new billing address?" Bank: "That might help." Family Member: "Odessa Memorial Cemetery, Highway 129, Plot Number 69." Bank: "Sir, that's a cemetery!" Family Member: "What do you do with dead people on your planet?" So there you are. Some of the "joys" of being an executor!