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 - ;))
==========

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 -

Widowhood Wednesday - 10/15/14

==========
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 - ;))
==========

That first Friday -

I made two more BUSINESS calls - ;))

My husband got a pension from his former employer -

And I had a copy of one of his checks in the binder -

Thinking that was all I needed -

BUT -

Nowhere on the check was a PHONE NUMBER to call -

So I had to look that up -

And figure out exactly whom I needed to inform of his death - ;))

Also -

Our Medical and Dental Insurance Premiums -

Though his former employer -

Were deducted from his pension check -

And my premium changed from “Family” coverage to “Surviving Spouse” -

So I had to contact his former employer’s HR department -

To inform them and arrange for the payment of the new premiums - ;))



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 CURRENT/FORMER EMPLOYER contacts to notify -

PENSION people - if your husband gets a pension check -
Make a copy of the check -
AND -
Get the name and phone number of the person you need to notify in the event of his death -

HUMAN RESOURCES DEPT -
If Medical/Dental insurance is deducted from the pension check -
Get the name and phone number of the person you need to notify in the event of his death -

These people can also spread the word around the “office” -
And save you some phone calls and emails - ;))

Widowhood Wednesday - 10/8/14

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 - ;))
==========


My husband died on a Thursday -

So the next day - Friday -

I contacted the first batch of BUSINESS people -

And another FAMILY member -

Then I was able to concentrate on notifying -

More FAMILY and FRIENDS -

Over the weekend -

Before contacting more BUSINESS people on Monday - ;))

The first three BUSINESS people I notified were -

Our Attorney - for “Family Trust” issues -
It seems that nobody makes a “Will” these days -
Having a “Family Trust” is the current rage -

Our Accountant - because I don’t DO our taxes anymore - haha -
And the IRS and State Income Tax Dept need to know that he died -
And the accountant can take care of that for me -

Our Financial Advisor - who handles our IRA’s -
We each have one -
And they each have beneficiaries -
In the event of our deaths -

And as I made my calls -

I made a note of who needed a “Certified” copy of the Death Certificate -

And who would accept a “regular” copy -

Because the dang things are expensive -

And I didn’t want to get more than I needed - ;))



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 BUSINESS contacts to notify -

Your Attorney - if you have one or have a “Family Trust” -
Your Accountant - if you have one do your taxes -
Your Financial Advisor - if you have one or any investments or IRAs -

Widowhood Wednesday - 10/1/14

==========
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 - ;))
==========

With all of the LISTS -

That I had made -

I realized one day -

That I had missed some VERY important people -

Who I contacted only ONCE a year -

EVERY year - ;))

They were on my CHRISTMAS CARD LIST -

So I printed out a sheet of labels -

And wrote a short note -

To the ones I had forgotten -

To tell them the sad news - ;))



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 -

Double-check your CHRISTMAS CARD LIST -
To make sure that you didn’t forget someone -
And add them to your list of FAMILY and FRIENDS - ;))

And print out a sheet of labels -
If you use those -
While you are at it -
It may save you some time later - ;))