Some unsolicited advice

Cerridwyn went on a bit of a rant said
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It’s been over a year and all my late father’s accounts are closed. I wanted to share, a bit of what I have learned from this.

He was 93, so he probably thought this was the ‘best way’ to do it. He had just about everything on some sort of autopay or subscription. It was a total nightmare. Getting people to stop charging for things was a bitch. I couldn’t close his accounts until I had probate papers from the court.

Some of the people that have given me the absolute most issues, and a few of these I am not so sure have been resolved,
-1 PBS, I cannot get them to stop sending bills that state his acccount rejected the payment
-2 Spectrum, serious assholes. Worst of the worst.
-3 AAA, oddly, I finally went in person…
-4 his bank ,even with the death certificate AND the probate papers. I put the probate account there thinking it would be easier, I was so so wrong, put it at your own bank!
-5 some wine club he had a subscription to, they were downright rude!
-6 Some of the various magazines he subbed to, except Time

The ones that were actually the easiest to deal with, in some cases surprisingly
-1 the HOA on his condo
-2 the utility companies
-3 his investment banker
-4 his church.
-5 American Express and Discover
-6 His local newspapers, they even refunded pennies where appropriate.

He owned property and didn’t have a will or trust. Everything else was taken care of but property values being what they are, that caused my year long nightmare.

I don’t care how old you are, get a will put any real estate in a trust, make plans for everything, include at the very least the banks your accounts are at, including charge cards and update it every opportunity you have, Put it in a safe deposit box or somewhere else trustworthy. Do this even if you have zero resources.

And tell everyone who you have on subscription, that you can, that you want a bill, and pay it through your bank site, safer, really it is especially for your heirs. If you can’t do this, include a list with your papers. I think autopay is okay for rent/house payments, but something annual? or irregular, your estate administrator might not even know it exists!

Anywho, just my 2 cents, or with inflation 200 dollars