By: Joan Whetzel
When my husband died, I was left with a huge set of issues
to deal with:
·
Changing bills to my name
·
Setting up online accounts for the bills, in my
name
·
Registering his death with IRS and Social
Security.
·
Canceling his driver’s license and voter’s
registration
·
Contacting his company’s HR department to see
about his retirement plan, life insurance, pension plan, and his remaining
vacation pay – by the way, that’s 4 different departments.
·
Pay off the house with some of the life
insurance, mainly because the mortgage holders wouldn’t deal with anyone but my
husband, even after they knew he was dead.
·
Getting an Estate Identification Number to deal
with some of the checks (escrow from the house payments, vacation pay) that
were written to his Estate.
·
Setting up two bank accounts, one for me and one
for the Estate.
There were numerous other things that kept getting thrown at
me as well. I thought the list of things I needed to overcome would never end. But,
somehow, I managed to get all those things done.
Luckily this year, the list is far smaller and a bit easier
to manage – clearing out the vines behind the garage, getting a new water
heater, replacing a weed-eater with a 12 month warranty (13 months after I
bought it), and one more unexpected surprise.
In Saturday’s mail, my late husband got a Jury Summons.
That’s right! He’s gets to appear at the Jury Assembly Room on September 24,
2014 and explain why he can’t serve on a Jury. And, no, death is not
listed under the “Exemptions” that’ll get you out of Jury Duty. (Apparently,
they didn’t take the cancelation of his driver’s license and voter’s registration
as a hint.)
So, Monday morning, I get to prove to one more government
agency that he’s no longer with us. I wonder how many forms and documents and
phone calls this one will take to prove that he has a legitimate reason for
getting off the jury duty roster.
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