Widowhood Wednesday - 10/29/14

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DISCLAIMER -
This is NOT intended to be professional advice of ANY sort!!
Please talk to your attorney and accountant about your affairs -
Your situation is unique to YOU!!
This is simply some of what I did - and it may or may not be -
What you want/need to do when the time comes - ;))
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I have a combo printer - copier - scanner -

And one day I thought of a “shortcut” -

In the “What will I have to deal with?” department -

So I made a copy of everything in his wallet -

And mine - ;))

I figured that was a fast and easy way -

To gather some basic information -

And to give me an idea of some of the other “Ducks” -

That I would have to deal with eventually - ;))



PLEASE REMEMBER -
This is simply some of what I did -
And it may or may not be what you want or need to do -
When the time comes - ;))


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HOMEWORK -

Make a copy of everything in his wallet - and yours -
For the binder -

Driver’s license -
Social Security card -
Credit cards -
Debit cards - -
Big Box Store membership cards -
Etc.

Then find the BASIC INFORMATION SHEET -
In your stack of checklists and printouts -
And fill it out - ;))

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Now that BOB has got you started -
You can take it from here -
Just take your time -
Make your lists -
Get yourself organized -
But take a break for now -
And ENJOY THE HOLIDAYS - ;))

BOB will be back NEXT YEAR -
With more little tidbits - ;))

But first I’m going to try to get though the holidays -
Without the love of my life - ;((

I gotta tell you -
You won’t get to decide when you join this club -
But be prepared -
Because the membership dues are a bitch - ;((

Widowhood Wednesday - 10/22/14

DISCLAIMER -
This is NOT intended to be professional advice of ANY sort!!
Please talk to your attorney and accountant about your affairs -
Your situation is unique to YOU!!
This is simply some of what I did - and it may or may not be -
What you want/need to do when the time comes - ;))
==========

The next bunch of notifications were GOVERNMENT entities - ;))

On Monday I had on my list -

To contact -

Social Security - HERE -

Medicare - HERE -

And the Veteran’s Administration - HERE - ;))

I re-checked the websites for “What to do when someone dies” -

And how to “Report a Death” -

Just in case the rules had changed -

Since the last time I printed them out - ;))

And did them in reverse order -

First the VA - HERE -
Checked the tab - Burials & Memorials -
Checked the Burial Benefits - HERE -
Printed out several of the sections and forms -
Made a file -
Set it aside -

Then Medicare - HERE -
It said to call Social Security -
Maybe kill two birds with one call? -
Printed that out -
Set it aside -

Then Social Security - HERE -

It said that “the funeral director will report the person’s death to Social Security” - Printed that out -
Made a file -
Called the Medical School -
And the lady said that they had already informed Social Security -
And Medicare was then notified by Social Security -
So - yeah - two birds - done already - ;))

I told her that she had done TWO-THIRDS -
Of my chores for the day -
And thanked her VERY much - ;))

Then I went back to the Social Security stuff -
And re-read it to see what applied to me -

He was receiving Social Security -
So I had to call the bank -
To “Request that any funds received for the month of death or later be returned to Social Security.”
The example given is “If the person dies in July, you must return the benefit paid in August.” So he died in June - and I had to return the benefit paid in July.
The bank wasted NO time in doing that - ;))

Then I made a note to check out the other “benefits” -
And put the file in the “Pending” accordion file for later -

I also put the VA file in the “Pending” accordion file for later -
I figured -
No VA pension -
And his body was donated to science -
So -
No body -
No burial -
No funeral service -

I was wrong -
When I finally got around to actually READING the VA Burial Benefits - HERE -

It turned out that I could apply for several things -

A burial flag - HERE - which I got from the post office -

A Presidential Memorial Certificate - HERE -
Pending -

“In Memory Of” Memorial Headstones and Markers -
Are available to those whose bodies are “donated to science” - HERE -
Pending -

We may even have a Burial Service -
When the Memorial Marker is approved - ;))

And - as the surviving spouse of a veteran -
I may also be eligible for VA Burial Benefits - HERE -
When my time comes - ;))


So READ the forms -
You may be eligible for more than you think - ;))



PLEASE REMEMBER -
This is simply some of what I did -
And it may or may not be what you want or need to do -
When the time comes - ;))



===
HOMEWORK -

Make a list of GOVERNMENT contacts to notify -

Check the websites for “What to do when someone dies” -
Or how to “Report a Death” -
And print out the information and/or the forms you need -
The rules may change -
So bookmark those websites -
And update the information and/or forms periodically -

Social Security - HERE -

Medicare - HERE -

Veteran’s Administration - HERE - and HERE -