So, as an organized person, I often find myself attempting to pull out my hair over inconsistencies. Though death itself is a fairly consistent occurrence, dealing with the aftermath of someone else’s death is anything but.

When someone dies, there are a lot of agencies, businesses, and entities that one needs to notify. Their requirements for you doing so vary from nothing other than a verbal notification by whomever to copies of the death certificate to phone calls from the Personal Rep.

Now you would think that the most critical entities would have the strongest requirements and sometimes they do. You have to have been appointed the Personal Rep and present Lettters to a bank to control someone else’s assets at a bank. Credit Cards all want to have a copy of the death certificate on file. Social Security wanted an original of the death certificate (but they would send it back if you sent a stamped, addressed envelope). The local city administration, which handles water and trash, wanted a copy of the Letters.

But…I closed the old Xcel account and opened a new one over the phone with no vetting at all(they require the account be in the name of a living person). I closed the Verison account the same way. Centurylink wanted a copy of Letters Testamentary, but then I did all the changes over the phone. Direct TV wouldn’t even talk to me about what we had to do, they would only speak to the Personal Rep. I was able to cancel the Terminex contract over the phone. Xpress Toll closed the account and sent a check for the balance with a phone call.

And yet, AAA will only close the account (and take the address off the database for the magazine) by talking to the Personal Rep.

When this whole thing started, we were asked how many death certificates we would want. We were very cautious, since you can always get more, and bought 7. I thought we’d use about half. I still have 6. No one wanted an original (except Social Security-see above) and the court. Most agencies didn’t want any, or only a copy.

I’ve long since given up making sense of this, but it still drives me crazy.