OT are things supposed to be easier now with computers

[jeff2001]

Make a long story short, my Dad passed away on January 21 . I never said anything about it on here. But it's been 6 months and my mother, my sister and I still havent gonna his name taking off of the power bill, the checking account, his old truck . We have to go to probate and we have to do this and we have to do that. You need to fill out this and send it to that. Why cant they just click a few buttons on the computer and take his name off everything? Isnt the internet supposed to make things easier on you? We got 10 copies of his death certificate and we thought that would be plenty. We have 1 left. I think things were easier back when everything was in a file cabinet. Anybody else have this kind of problem? And to top it all off Duke Energy wants $250 to take his name off the account. I dont think so. Sorry for the rant.

 

[duckcock2.0.0]

My condolences to you and your family, jeff2001. I"m sorry you're having to jump through so many hoops at a time when you need as few obstacles as possible.

 

[ClemDent]

Sorry to hear that Jeff. My condolences to you and your family. I agree 1000% the process of taking care of all these things is a giant pain, especially considering the added stress of losing a loved one. I lost my Dad 3 years ago and had to go through the same hoop jumping. It took over a year to go through the probate process. It seems all the layers of red tape have been put in place to serve everyone except the family.

 

[jeff2001]

My mom is 81 and has a Facebook. I told her to go on there and rant about Duke Energy.

 

[chief2791]

Truly sorry for the loss of your father Jeff, I hope you can get everything straightened out as quickly as possible! When things go to probate, they get tied up for a period of time, which is unfortunate.

This doesn't help you at this point, but for others reading, a living trust may make sense. If you're not familiar with it, just google it. It certainly avoids alot of probate issues.

 

[MUTiger91]

Hi Jeff, sorry for your loss.

On the Duke Energy thing, If your mom gets the bill and pays it, is there a disadvantage to just keeping it in your dad's name?

I personally would be willing to do a lot to not pay a utility company $250 for a ridiculous charge when they are adding zero value for you. I don't know if it would work, but I would wait until the fall when temperatures are more moderate. Then I would stop paying the bill and wait for them to send me a pending disconnect notice. Then I would call and say, "He doesn't live here anymore. Can I put it in my name?" They will probably not want to do that without back payment. You could then say, "If I pay you now and chase him down for repayment, will you put the service in my name?" It would certainly give you a little leverage, because now you are helping them instead of asking them for something.

 

[Freddie.B.Cocky]

Make a long story short, my Dad passed away on January 21 . I never said anything about it on here. But it's been 6 months and my mother, my sister and I still havent gonna his name taking off of the power bill, the checking account, his old truck . We have to go to probate and we have to do this and we have to do that. You need to fill out this and send it to that. Why cant they just click a few buttons on the computer and take his name off everything? Isnt the internet supposed to make things easier on you? We got 10 copies of his death certificate and we thought that would be plenty. We have 1 left. I think things were easier back when everything was in a file cabinet. Anybody else have this kind of problem? And to top it all off Duke Energy wants $250 to take his name off the account. I dont think so. Sorry for the rant.

My condolence about your dad. It's always tough losing those close to you, regardless of your age or their age.

 

[Freddie.B.Cocky]

With all of the above being said, would it be easier on my wife when I pass away to have everything transferred to her name now? Savings, investments, house, cars, etc.

 

[TheReelEss]

Make a long story short, my Dad passed away on January 21 . I never said anything about it on here. But it's been 6 months and my mother, my sister and I still havent gonna his name taking off of the power bill, the checking account, his old truck . We have to go to probate and we have to do this and we have to do that. You need to fill out this and send it to that. Why cant they just click a few buttons on the computer and take his name off everything? Isnt the internet supposed to make things easier on you? We got 10 copies of his death certificate and we thought that would be plenty. We have 1 left. I think things were easier back when everything was in a file cabinet. Anybody else have this kind of problem? And to top it all off Duke Energy wants $250 to take his name off the account. I dont think so. Sorry for the rant.

My condolences. Are you in SC? All you need to do is find the correct person at these utilities and fax them your father's death certificate and your Personal Representative form from probate. I was my dad's PR and this worked well for me. Duke didn't charge me anything extra.

Technology is both an blessing and a curse. In business, if some technology comes along that could increase your productivity and you ignore it your competitors will make you sorry for it. At my last job the owner got really reluctant to update because he was old and didn't see the benefit to him. He died and the company floundered for years, trying to catch up.

 

[coolcock2001]

We were supposed to be only working a couple hours a week by now from what they predicted back in the 50s. But somehow people made up more crap to do so we don't get a break

 

[TheReelEss]

With all of the above being said, would it be easier on my wife when I pass away to have everything transferred to her name now? Savings, investments, house, cars, etc.

Yes, you can put everything in a trusteeship and it remains yours until you pass. It makes the probate process easier. My sister and I tried to discuss this once with my dad and he wanted none of that so we dropped it quickly. It would be good of you both to make sure the other knows what investments and savings you both have. It was not that easy to figure out my dad's. Paying taxes and maintenance on real estate and cars can get expensive while you work through the system. My dad had tow houses and we spent nearly $60K making repairs, paying taxes and utilities. Having been my dad's PR, I would give this piece of advice to anyone who finds themselves in this position. If there's a decent amount of money in the estate, hand it all over to a lawyer. If they navigate the system quickly, they may save you more than they charge. My wife did with her aunt's and they navigated the process, just informing her when they needed her to do or sign something. I did not with my dad's and wished I had.

 

[MUTiger91]

With all of the above being said, would it be easier on my wife when I pass away to have everything transferred to her name now? Savings, investments, house, cars, etc.

@chief2791 mentioned a living trust.

I went half-way there

• You can get a beneficiary deed on your house that specifies who it goes to when you die. I owned my house before I was married, so I did this. It was free for me because I was refinancing the loan anyway, but a lawyer can help you and it should be really cheap compared to a trust.
• For vehicles, 401Ks, brokerage accounts and bank accounts, you can set them up as Transfer on Death. The vehicles you have to do at the DMV, but the others usually just have a form that you sign to designate a beneficiary.
• Then if you feel like you need it, you can do a simple will for possessions

It gets more complicated if you have multiple people you want to give things to (e.g. if your wife were to precede you in death, would you want things to be divided among kids/siblings/other friends/relations?). But if your goal is to keep your wife out of probate and you don't have rich people problems, the above covers a lot of scenarios.

Either way, find an attorney who does wills and trusts and you can find the right answer.

 

[Dizzy01]

It is just a few buttons but companies seem to take enjoyment with making things so complicated on the consumer. You spend 10 hours pulling together information for them to take 20 minutes to compete an action.

I do think you have your Mom the best advice and it’s ridiculous that you have to take to social media to get companies to do the right thing.

 

[bigsirspur]

With all of the above being said, would it be easier on my wife when I pass away to have everything transferred to her name now? Savings, investments, house, cars, etc.

Speak to an attorney about a revocable trust. It takes everything that is in the trust out of probate process. Essentially, property is in the trust and there is the primary beneficiary (your parent) and other trustee beneficiaries (the heirs). When the primary beneficiary dies, the other beneficiaries are left with the trust. They can then distribute its assets per agreement as they see fit. It will not work for everything and everyone, and whether it is wise depends on the size of the estate. Putting the checking accounts in the name of the trust also makes it much easier to pay bills and administer affairs. This process works really well, unless there are feuding sibling heirs.

 

[TheReelEss]

It is just a few buttons but companies seem to take enjoyment with making things so complicated on the consumer. You spend 10 hours pulling together information for them to take 20 minutes to compete an action.

I do think you have your Mom the best advice and it’s ridiculous that you have to take to social media to get companies to do the right thing.

My wife just retired from the county school system. She took a part time job with the district this coming school year and they couldn't retrieve her records. She hasn't even missed one day of work. She had to go through all the paperwork and get a TB test. Bureaucracy.

 

[Lurker123]

My condolences.

And to the above posts, yes, put your wife on anything and everything you can.

I suppose it could complicate divorces, but it helps with less hassle with deaths.

The trusteeship is a good idea too. We just started researching it, and it seems a homerun idea.

 

[Gradstudent]

Sorry to hear that Jeff, I was the personal representative around 10 years ago for my Dad, my Mom is still alive, I did not not hire a lawyer.

He had a lot of banking/broker accounts with different companies, it was amazing to see how some were so easy to work with (USAA) and some were not easy at all, the worst was Santee Cooper for some bonds he had with them, they made life so difficult and had such an exhausting process.

 

[TheReelEss]

Speak to an attorney about a revocable trust. It takes everything that is in the trust out of probate process. Essentially, property is in the trust and there is the primary beneficiary (your parent) and other trustee beneficiaries (the heirs). When the primary beneficiary dies, the other beneficiaries are left with the trust. They can then distribute its assets per agreement as they see fit. It will not work for everything and everyone, and whether it is wise depends on the size of the estate. Putting the checking accounts in the name of the trust also makes it much easier to pay bills and administer affairs. This process works really well, unless there are feuding sibling heirs.

All good info. I will add that there will still be the period where probate runs an ad in local papers giving creditors their opportunity to file a claim against the estate. Then a few days to wrap up the process.

 

[TheReelEss]

Sorry to hear that Jeff, I was the personal representative around 10 years ago for my Dad, my Mom is still alive, I did not not hire a lawyer.

He had a lot of banking/broker accounts with different companies, it was amazing to see how some were so easy to work with (Fidelity) and some were not easy at all, the worst was Santee Cooper for some bonds he had with them, they made life so difficult and had such an exhausting murky process.

Those investment/401K companies will almost always try to talk you into leaving the money with them.

 

[Freddie.B.Cocky]

Thanks to everyone for the information.

 

[jeff2001]

Thanks guys, ok so apparently my moms name is not on the power bill just my dads. So that's why they want the $250. But still dang .

 

[Lurker123]

Thanks guys, ok so apparently my moms name is not on the power bill just my dads. So that's why they want the $250. But still dang .

Yeah, that is ludicrous. Even if it was a new family moving in, you don't need $250 to switch a name.

 

[Flameout12]

Make a long story short, my Dad passed away on January 21 . I never said anything about it on here. But it's been 6 months and my mother, my sister and I still havent gonna his name taking off of the power bill, the checking account, his old truck . We have to go to probate and we have to do this and we have to do that. You need to fill out this and send it to that. Why cant they just click a few buttons on the computer and take his name off everything? Isnt the internet supposed to make things easier on you? We got 10 copies of his death certificate and we thought that would be plenty. We have 1 left. I think things were easier back when everything was in a file cabinet. Anybody else have this kind of problem? And to top it all off Duke Energy wants $250 to take his name off the account. I dont think so. Sorry for the rant.

Jeff...not with probate. I've done this 2X. Most of the time those death certs are required as hard copies. Banks, DMV, etc; may all require a death cert and copy of your PR letter.

You would do well to keep up all your personal rep info on some kind of spreadsheet in order to help manage the $$.

You will have to give the court your documents filled out in order to close out the estate at the end of 8 months.

 

[jedi_mike]

All good info. I will add that there will still be the 6 week period where probate runs an ad in local papers giving creditors their opportunity to file a claim against the estate. Then a few days to wrap up the process.

Do you or anybody else here knows if you reopen a probate, if you have to redo the process again, as in running add in paper? Because I have to reopen my dads if I want to put his boat in my name.I haven't done it yet, as a friend of mine told me that I would and didn't want to cause issues for my 85-year-old mom.

 

[Horseshoe 04]

Thanks guys, ok so apparently my moms name is not on the power bill just my dads. So that's why they want the $250. But still dang .

I assure you they will accept the payment. Leave it in his honor. I bet he was one of the good ones.
love & blessings to the 2001 clan.

 

[carolinamike79]

Make a long story short, my Dad passed away on January 21 . I never said anything about it on here. But it's been 6 months and my mother, my sister and I still havent gonna his name taking off of the power bill, the checking account, his old truck . We have to go to probate and we have to do this and we have to do that. You need to fill out this and send it to that. Why cant they just click a few buttons on the computer and take his name off everything? Isnt the internet supposed to make things easier on you? We got 10 copies of his death certificate and we thought that would be plenty. We have 1 left. I think things were easier back when everything was in a file cabinet. Anybody else have this kind of problem? And to top it all off Duke Energy wants $250 to take his name off the account. I dont think so. Sorry for the rant.

So sorry to hear of the loss of your Dad Jeff. Always a tough experience losing a parent.

 

[titaniumspur]

Make a long story short, my Dad passed away on January 21 . I never said anything about it on here. But it's been 6 months and my mother, my sister and I still havent gonna his name taking off of the power bill, the checking account, his old truck . We have to go to probate and we have to do this and we have to do that. You need to fill out this and send it to that. Why cant they just click a few buttons on the computer and take his name off everything? Isnt the internet supposed to make things easier on you? We got 10 copies of his death certificate and we thought that would be plenty. We have 1 left. I think things were easier back when everything was in a file cabinet. Anybody else have this kind of problem? And to top it all off Duke Energy wants $250 to take his name off the account. I dont think so. Sorry for the rant.

Sorry for the loss of your father.
Yesterday Duke interrupted our power twice. They are really helping people sell these solar panels.

 

[lowoucntrygamecock]

Sorry for the loss of your father.
Yesterday Duke interrupted our power twice. They are really helping people sell these solar panels.

If solar panels are connected correctly with the proper inverters you will still not have power during a utility loss of power. The inverters are designed to trip off when utility power is lost. That is unless you have battery backups. There are ways to make it work but in most cases you will still be out of power.

 

[Gamecock Lifer]

@chief2791 mentioned a living trust.

I went half-way there

• You can get a beneficiary deed on your house that specifies who it goes to when you die. I owned my house before I was married, so I did this. It was free for me because I was refinancing the loan anyway, but a lawyer can help you and it should be really cheap compared to a trust.
• For vehicles, 401Ks, brokerage accounts and bank accounts, you can set them up as Transfer on Death. The vehicles you have to do at the DMV, but the others usually just have a form that you sign to designate a beneficiary.
• Then if you feel like you need it, you can do a simple will for possessions

It gets more complicated if you have multiple people you want to give things to (e.g. if your wife were to precede you in death, would you want things to be divided among kids/siblings/other friends/relations?). But if your goal is to keep your wife out of probate and you don't have rich people problems, the above covers a lot of scenarios.

Either way, find an attorney who does wills and trusts and you can find the right answer.

I am a financial advisor, had not been told about the beneficiary deed, so I looked it up. Where do you live? From what I just read TOD deeds for homes are not an option in SC. (Which would explain why nobody mentioned it to me before I guess)

 

[TheReelEss]

Do you or anybody else here knows if you reopen a probate, if you have to redo the process again, as in running add in paper? Because I have to reopen my dads if I want to put his boat in my name.I haven't done it yet, as a friend of mine told me that I would and didn't want to cause issues for my 85-year-old mom.

I don't know. I had all those things sold or disbursed to my sister and me as soon as possible. But I would think the ad in the paper would not be necessary.

 

[81 Alumnus]

Jeff2001, I'd never defend Duke Energy or any power company. But, they are looking at closing your dad's account and opening a new one in your mom's name. The $250 is for a new customer deposit just like they would charge someone who just moved to the area and didn't have an account with them.

Have they told you if they have a deposit from your dad? If so, that will be returned when you close his account if all bills are paid. Otherwise, just leave it in your dad's name. Doesn't hurt your mom in anyway

All the best to you and your family through all of this

 

[Gamecock122]

Speak to an attorney about a revocable trust. It takes everything that is in the trust out of probate process. Essentially, property is in the trust and there is the primary beneficiary (your parent) and other trustee beneficiaries (the heirs). When the primary beneficiary dies, the other beneficiaries are left with the trust. They can then distribute its assets per agreement as they see fit. It will not work for everything and everyone, and whether it is wise depends on the size of the estate. Putting the checking accounts in the name of the trust also makes it much easier to pay bills and administer affairs. This process works really well, unless there are feuding sibling heirs.

Big spur has nailed it with this revocable trust. My wife is the trustee for this trust from her mother who died 23 months ago. She was able to write the checks out of the account to each child and grandchild as her mothers wish list stated with zero issue or complaint of any sort. We had a lawyer start and handle the probate and she only signed and paid the lawyer. probate closed the estate about 8 months after we started the process. One adder, go ahead and get 20 death certs because 10 simply is not enough. Everybody requires the death certs.

 

[atl-cock]

With all of the above being said, would it be easier on my wife when I pass away to have everything transferred to her name now? Savings, investments, house, cars, etc.

Unless she predeceases you.

Sounds like it's time to contact your attorney.

And, of course, condolences to Jeff and his family.

 

[mavcock]

I am a financial advisor, had not been told about the beneficiary deed, so I looked it up. Where do you live? From what I just read TOD deeds for homes are not an option in SC. (Which would explain why nobody mentioned it to me before I guess)

You can put your house in your and your spouse's name with a joint tenants with the right of survivorship and it passes at death to the survivor. And transfer at death on bank accounts as well.

Sorry for your loss, Jeff. I lost my Mom 7 1/2 years ago and kept Duke Power in her name so I can smile every time I get the bill.

FYI, living trusts are not worth it. I worked out of law school for an attorney who sold those things like hotcakes at the beach. He packaged them with a will and power of attorney for about $2000. 90 percent of the people getting this done didn't need the trust but they were talked into it. It only accomplished what a right of survivorship deed would have accomplished. And once a week I do a closing where a client up here has a living trust and they have little more that a retirement account, a house and cars. They have to bring their trust documents and we have to review them and then draft a memorandum of trust that has to be filed when they refinance/sell. I don't charge for this extra work, but most attorneys do.

As far as anyone else on here that does not have a will or power of attorney or a living will, just call five attorneys and go with the cheapest one - the forms are pretty much the same for a standard will and the other documents. I only do wills and powers of attorney for friends and family because real estate is taking all of my time, and if I did I couldn't justify charging what other attorneys charge.

 

[lilburncock]

With all of the above being said, would it be easier on my wife when I pass away to have everything transferred to her name now? Savings, investments, house, cars, etc.

Sure, unless you die first.

 

[Conway Gamecock]

More to the premise of the OP, I have found that electronics in the way of computer technology - the idea was that they would make lives better. But they actually add MORE work and toil to our lives. It's like people are more bound and tied down to computer electronics than ever before.

I have this issue with smart phones. I miss those old plastic push-button phones that were attached to the kitchen wall, and had those long cords. They got their electricity from the phone lines, and were never without power even in heavy storms that took out your power lines.

They had the greatest connections that NEVER wavered. Today you buy these $500 or $1,000 sophisticated "smart" phones with the connection gaps and holes and dead spots no matter who you get service from. They don't even have land line options anymore - just internet phones that aren't any better than smart phones.

 

[The Coup Nazi]

With all of the above being said, would it be easier on my wife when I pass away to have everything transferred to her name now? Savings, investments, house, cars, etc.

Yes, and do it now. Then when she kicks you out remember, you could have had a V8.

 

[BattleshipTexas]

Make a long story short, my Dad passed away on January 21 . I never said anything about it on here. But it's been 6 months and my mother, my sister and I still havent gonna his name taking off of the power bill, the checking account, his old truck . We have to go to probate and we have to do this and we have to do that. You need to fill out this and send it to that. Why cant they just click a few buttons on the computer and take his name off everything? Isnt the internet supposed to make things easier on you? We got 10 copies of his death certificate and we thought that would be plenty. We have 1 left. I think things were easier back when everything was in a file cabinet. Anybody else have this kind of problem? And to top it all off Duke Energy wants $250 to take his name off the account. I dont think so. Sorry for the rant.

Try to use copies of the death certificates, rather than the real thing. Copiers are so good now-a-days, it is hard to tell the difference.

 

[TheReelEss]

Try to use copies of the death certificates, rather than the real thing. Copiers are so good now-a-days, it is hard to tell the difference.

I got 14 death certificates for my dad and I think I still have 10. Many places will let you fax them.

 

[USMCatFan]

Why cant they just click a few buttons on the computer and take his name off everything?

Sorry for your loss. But, I wouldn't want anything to be that easy and give some "Pencil Pusher" that kind of power over my life.

Imagine some state employee having a "bad day". He makes a couple of errant Clicks...And, BOOM, your name no longer exists on anything.