Trials and Tribulations

that no one tells you about after a spousal death.

There should be a class on the pitfalls of death.

There should be a class for bank tellers and a class for the widow[er]s. 

So I opened my bank account and all went fine, until it didn't.

Oh wait. We can't transfer the loan payment from your joint to the your personal.

But I've already closed the joint so they better. I was told I had to close the joint account.

Oh but well, maybe, I don't know.

Oh well maybe the bank wants their loan to be paid.

Okay, I'll get a request set up. But wait. It only allows me to do that if fraud is happening.

Not fraud. Dead. D E A D, deceased, gone, no longer a social security number kind of dead.

The look I got from that!

Um, let me get a loan officer.

Ohhhhkay.

The loan officer points to the tellers screen and says she has to use the fraud screen because well, because it is the only screen they have.

I roll my eyes.

We need a copy of the death certificate.

Wait. What? So let me get this straight, he died in September, you refused EFT transfers from the VA in January because he was deceased. You took loan payments from the joint account even though he was gone, and allowed auto payments in his name to be taken with the phone and electric.

SO I have to prove  now  that he is dead? 

Let's do this, put that money back in his/our account and then we will start all over from September. Your bank cost me 4 months of non payment for pension because you refused a deposit you thought was for him because...oops, mistake, he was deceased and it was for ME.

But NOW...

I have to prove his is deceased. 

I'm sorry but...

You get the jist of it. I doubt all banks/credit unions are this dense. A loan is taken out with right of survivorship in two names. If one person dies, the survivor automatically becomes responsible for the loan. Duh. 

Setting up auto pay is great except when the teller/loan officer doesn't know how to transfer the auto pay. Which seems to be extremely insane.

I am furious. Furious enough to move my banking to another place. 

Becoming a widow or widower even with all the correct estate/trust papers in place is still an ordeal. 8 months later the ordeal is not finished with taking care of business.