My husband’s dead, he can’t cash a check!
The business of death has a long life. It’s been almost five years since I became a widow, and the water bill is still in Robert’s name. After many many phone calls, I found a customer service representative who was helpful.
“No problem, we’ll get this straightened out. I’ll close the account in Robert’s name and you’ll be issued a new account number under your name.”
Great. I questioned why simply changing the name wasn’t an option, but never got an explanation that made any sense. A few days later I received a check, a credit from the old account, made payable…to Robert. A week later a notice that the account was delinquent – in the amount of the check – arrived in the mail. That was addressed to me.
The bureaucracy of a last breath is overwhelming. Tackling the Death To Do list, what tasks haunted you?
Paula Ganzi McGloin 
Leave a Reply