Monday, January 14, 2019

There'll be time when she goes......

No there won't because the after dying stuff goes on and on and on. Money was put into Mum's account again last week and that light bulb blinks. Who informs Centrelink of a person who has died in the care of a nursing home, me, Power of attorny and next of kin or Mercy Health admin?  I had 6 tabs open on the MyGov web page and still couldn't find the answer and there are several options for a funeral payment and only one would fit our situation, which is a single pension payment but I thought that had already been paid into the bank account.

Apparently the chain of command is, Doctor's Certificate stating cause of death which lets the funeral minions take charge and they inform Births, Marriages and Deaths and sooner or later a Certificate will arrive with a note telling me to have someone with me when I open it as it might distress me only if it's 3 months from now and Centrelink is still putting money in the account.  
The death is magically flittered over to Centrelink and they send me a letter probably abusing me for not letting them know.

I don't need it for the Cemetary since I have Mum sitting in the wardrobe. I do have to make an appointment with them to sign papers to have a hole dug. An official stands by and for $450 watches the 2nd official digger dig the hole. They only have hole digging on Thursdays and Sundays and if a mob turns up I have to pay for the extras but it will be Thursday and only me.  The Monumental Mason is across the road from the Cemetary and I can walk there and order the bronze plaque which slides in next to my father's.  That's after I go to the Pioneer Cemetary and take a photo of the plaque to get the size right.
That starts at $900 depending on how many words are to go on it.  Heaven help me if the nag above doesn't get the last word. 
Look up Pioneer Cemetary at Cheltenham, it has some famous people there and very interesting to walk around.

So not having a reason to close down the bank accounts is a good thing.

I have the silk flowers to go in the lovely urn but not cement to put the flowers in lemonade bottles. My genius, when they get tatty I just take out the bottles, throw them away and make up another lot of lovely flowers. The roses lasted 8 years until the bush fire went through and our plot was the unlucky one to get frizzled.  Official funeral expenses, taxi to Bunnings, bag of cement, taxi home.
Fix flowers, taxi to cemetary, plant and taxi home. I think I'll go and have another look for photos so I can cut out one step. Photos are everywhere included a load I brought back from the Home.

Death Certificate will not upset me, someone walking into the house and asking why don't I just get a company to some in and do the cleaning up, upsets me. That's my Mother's junk and I have to go through it, especially when I find a birthday card from two years ago, for me, and she was upset when she couldn't find it so made another one. It's a tradition for a Victorian Spinster Daughter to go through and burn any thing that would trash a dear Mama's reputation, Queen Victoria's daughter practically re-wrote her diaries and Princess Margaret had a bonfire of the Queen Mum's letters but all I found were notes for me to buy this and that.














 

10 comments:

Elephant's Child said...

I suspect you need to tell Centrelink. Which probably means a phone call. And an interminable wait. Or perhaps a letter.
It does indeed go on. And on. And on.
Look after yourself as best you can. Please.

Cheryl said...

Here in NSW the undertaker's job is to inform Centrelink, after they have obtained a copy of the death certificate. If they don't the power of attorney can do it. The solicitor who deals with the will usually informs the bank. I think its such a huge load for you to have to do everything with no help from others. I hope everything gets sorted soon.

River said...

I also think you should tell Centrelink and then take in the certificate when it arrives so they can confirm. Perhaps take "Mum" in as well so they can see she really is dead? I wouldn't mind getting paid $450 to watch someone else dig a hole.
Time for yourself will come...in time. Take your time with sorting out all her things, there's no need to hurry that.

Anonymous said...

It doesn't matter how well prepared and organised you are, the process still has to be gone through. I would certainly be telling Centrelink personally, but there are no guarantees that it will work.

Interesting about the Royals.

JahTeh said...

El Chi, this is the problem, she wasn't in my care at the time of death and the Home was getting government loot so it should be doing the job. I'm not touching the money or doing any of their work. Too hot and too tired.

CG, in Victoria the Funeral Home only informs the Births,Deaths and Marriages dept and it goes to Centrelink in its own sweet time.

River, not as hot as you are but too hot to worry. I can wait until the Certificate arrives and last night I woke up about 2 wondering where I put my ownership of the grave certificate. Time to take a rest.

Andrew, I will be going through all my junk before I go anywhere. I have books to go to the op-shop but without a car it's a nightmare. It would be lovely to have a bag in the letter box asking for books instead of clothes.
Annie O and I have quite a load of Courtly gossip.

Beth Waltz said...

These are the "loose ends" the daughter is expected to tie into neat bows...

Dear JahTeh, I was fortunate to have the guidance of a family of morticians, including an 8-year-old girl who eyed the family enscriptions on the columbaria, noted my name, and made notes for future reference. Her grandparents were very pleased to have our great new rock in their little cemetery: "Cremation is becoming much more accepted, even in rural areas." (And little miss interjected: "I like funerals with LOTS of flowers." They provided helpful lists and phone numbers, and literally held my hand throughout the tidying up. Would that you were so blessed.

At one particularly frustrating point, I asked: "What happens when there's no leftover daughter to deal with this? What then?" Grandmother Mortician replied: "It's a sad mess, dear, a very sad mess." ?!

JahTeh said...

Beth, I was given a book of companies to get in touch with but all that had been done when she went into the Home. Her mobile phone is in my name so I don't have to worry about that, I'll find it somewhere and it has no credits on it. As for my mess I'm trying not to be sentimental about every book I have, if I read one now, I have to ask myself, do I want to really read it again in the future. I have a box and quite a lot have been dumped in that.

Ann ODyne said...

and they charge for doing something you could do yourself.
eg " for obtaining DC from doctor - $165" that sorta thing. accounts from funeral directors are a shocker. all a nice distraction from grief.
anything weird you wanna do, do it now so you can claim later "I was griefstricken at the time"
Legally the executor allows themselves an amount for all their trouble. My vile uncle gave himself $500 for doing Nan's simple Will. When you have done all the sums, whatever is left you should award to yourself as executor. every cent.
I buried my dad in the country with his ancestors for one-third of what it cost him to bury mum at Springvale Crematorium Gardens Spa & Bar.
Chin up darling, it's onward & upward from here.

JahTeh said...

Annie O, I was surprised that it only cost an extra thousand and $550 was for the celebrant (excellent, worth every cent) and the flowers and food. What choked me was the $900 and upwards for a bronze plaque and $450 to dig a hole at the cemetary but that will be worth it to get her out of the wardrobe. The biggest winner out of all this is the taxi company but I seem to be getting all my regular drivers and they all ask after mum. Probably upset at the lack of money after 10 years of tips. You'll be pleased to know that after I found one card from you, I found others she'd kept, very privileged as she didn't cut them up and make other cards from them.

-blessed b9, Catalyst4Christ said...

I agree (the things you hate) - those are simply things of the earth, not of where we're going. Wannum?