Grandmother passed away, tell me about hidden costs

[roscoepc1]

A decent funeral home should give you as many copies of the death certificate as you need.

I needed 6, just for my 13 yr old son. So you DO need quite a few, I'm sure, for an adult....Health insurance, Gov't (taxes, as he was a dependant), both federal and provincial, various service agencies, etc....None of them were returned...they needed them on file.

I'm very sorry about your loss. Condolences to you and your family.

 

[keishashadow]

A decent funeral home should give you as many copies of the death certificate as you need.

I needed 6, just for my 13 yr old son. So you DO need quite a few, I'm sure, for an adult....Health insurance, Gov't (taxes, as he was a dependant), both federal and provincial, various service agencies, etc....None of them were returned...they needed them on file.

I'm very sorry about your loss. Condolences to you and your family.

last i checked, certified copies of death certificates cost in area of $10 (as do birth certificates) in PA not sure of the rates in other states

im willing to bet that the cost is passed on to the consumer by the funeral director somewhere in the total cost.

you can reorder the certificates if you run out, just need to prove your relationship to the deceased (immediate relative, etc.) and fill out paperwork with state to process.

 

[roscoepc1]

last i checked, certified copies of death certificates cost in area of $10 (as do birth certificates) in PA not sure of the rates in other states

im willing to bet that the cost is passed on to the consumer by the funeral director somewhere in the total cost.

you can reorder the certificates if you run out, just need to prove your relationship to the deceased (immediate relative, etc.) and fill out paperwork with state to process.

We're in Ontario, so it definitely can be different from place to place. I'm sure the cost WAS passed on, however, it was included in the funeral bill....along with the newspaper notices, luncheon food etc...and if we'd needed more, it wouldn't have cost more. They were covered regardless of how many we needed.

 

[MSSANDRA]

We had to pay for ours though the funeral home got them for us. If you need them later, ours do not provide them.

 

[blackforest]

Probably the biggest "shock" was how long the process can take. My dad has been gone 21 years and even with surviorship, it took my mom 8-10 months to finalize things.

With DMiL and DFil, after 5 & 3 years respectivily, we are still dealing with issues. In their case it was a larger estate and a lot of convuluted "deals" that had been brokered over the years with the siblings. And we even like each other, all 8 of us! So just know that things can take a while and be prepared to be dealing with them!

 

[Miss Peach]

I am so sorry for your loss.

I would add that the recommendations to hire an attorney makes sense to me.

When my FIL passed my DH was the executor, and it should have been very basic. But the anger and grief that my SIL felt at not being named executor was HUGE. She second guessed every decision my DH made. Other relatives announced unsubstantiated monetary claims on the estate. SIL sued DH. Virtually the entire estate went to pay the lawyers. And family members haven't spoken in years.

Live and Learn!

Cathy

 

[seashoreCM]

The only thing that will take a long while to settle is selling my Dad's apartment. He was in a senior independent living place, and with the economy sales are down there. Could take 1-2 YEARS to sell? Ugh. We cannot control the sale, we can't lower the price, or "fix" the place up nicer. We no longer have access to the unit. .

Why would you not have access to the unit?
Could the heirs agree to take a lower price for the apartment and be rid of it? (Would the heirs agree ...?)

 

[PatMcDuck]

No, we are stuck. His apartment is in a senior place, and you buy in for a large flat fee, I think he paid about $180,000 or whatever. Then you pay a monthly charge, pretty hefty, but it includes everything, even meals in the beautiful dining room. Not assisted living, it is independent living, they all have kitchens, and there is a health center. When they pass away, you get back 90% of the original flat fee, but not until they resell the exact unit. You have to get out in 30 days, and they then renovate it. Every new owner gets new paint, carpet, and appliances. Once you are out, the estate does not have to pay the monthly charge (about $3000/month)

They have a library, store, bank, many clubs, walking trails, outdoor gardening area, indoor pool, the works.

It is in central NJ, called Harrogate, and it is a beautiful place. My aunt had lived there as well. Units used to sell fast. Now, not so much. The attorney we are using says he has 7-8 estates that are being held up just for Harrogate contracts. Could be worse, the apartment was only part of the estate, not the main asset. And the attorney is quite familiar with it, so we will sit tight.

 

[Soarin_04]

...was hiring a friend of the neighbor to conduct an estate sale without fully investigating this woman first.

My mom didn't have a whole lot that was worth anything, but she also grew up during the depression and never threw anything out. Her house was full of stuff that -- had I had the time and energy -- if I would've sold each item individually on ebay or whatever, I probably would've earned four times what I ended up with.

The woman I'd hired to be in charge of the sale, I discovered later, scanned the house, found the more costly items, and contacted her friends about them. She arranged for them to come to the sale, she would "sell" them the stuff for next to nothing, and then she would "retrieve" the item from them, and sell them on her own for twice or three times the original worth.

I was grieving, overwhelmed, was told I didn't have to be at the sale so I didn't show. I should've. I had no idea something was fishy until she handed me a check for $150 for an entire household of furniture, kitchen items, appliances, etc. Mom's new freezer was worth more than $150 alone.