The view from here

Saturday, 25 October 2025

Random notes

My mother had a RRIF (Registered Retirement Income Fund for those readers that are not Canadian). My sister and I are beneficiaries. I was sent forms to sign and return so the investment firm that administered the RRIF can send us the proceeds. I signed the forms and sent them back. They then advised me that the forms need my signature and my sister’s signature. It was suggested that she could be emailed the forms, sign them, scan them and email them back. Nice in theory except my sister is in the midst of a move and her stuff is in boxes. So I drove a little over two hours to meet her and get forms signed. As a bonus I stopped at a specialty store that sells soda and candy and loaded up on hard to get root beer. In the near future will have to drive down again as notarized signatures will be required on a final set of forms.

So why is my sister not able to drive up here? Some things with some people are just easier being done a certain way. Plus, if I drive down again I can get more root beer.About every three months I get to hear from the insurance companies. I believe my auto insurance company is resigned to paying me certain benefits up to February 2026 which will be the two year anniversary of the accident. In Alberta auto insurance no fault Accident Benefits coverage, or Section B of the policy, is only for two years from the date of loss. My group health insurer wants me to get a medical update from my surgeon. They have made veiled threats about having this done by a certain date or they will do something unspecified. So I will be meeting with my surgeon next week. Thankfully he is a great guy who is willing to help deal with bureaucracy. No, I do not feel like I am in condition to go back to work at this time.

In my last physiotherapy session I tackled the stationary bike which I had not been on in some time. Damn, the legs were moving in a nice fluid motion and it looked okay. I could not do it for long, about ten minutes, but it felt good. I remember vividly months ago when I could move the pedals back and forth unable to do a complete revolution. I have visions of trying a gym. The rehab specialist that I saw on October 8 said that was not a good idea. I have to be patient.

My lawyer contacted me regarded the suit I have against the other party that drove into me and caused my injuries. She asked if I was free for the second week of February 2026 for questioning with the other party’s lawyer. I responded that I did not need to check my calendar as I am sure I am free that day.

In the meantime I keep plodding along getting better in barely noticeable increments over months. I look forward to the day I can chuck the crutches.

Monday, 20 October 2025

Navigating the paperwork

In the past I would joke about dying creating paperwork. Well it does.

Being executor of my mother’s estate is not that big of a deal. There is not a huge amount of work involved. What is a problem is the incompetence I am encountering.

I got a lawyer to handle probate. It takes them two weeks to get back to me with a letter of engagement. They spell her name wrong.

She had an account with an investment firm. They spell my last name wrong in one of the first emails and the English is bad. In another email they got my last name spelled right but my first name was now spelled wrong. They emailed me forms to sign which I signed, scanned, and sent back. I was then informed later that the forms need my signature and my sister’s signature as well. So the forms need to be redone. Never mind that before sending the forms I asked for clear instructions as to what they needed beforehand. I complained about the misspelling and got a feeble apology.

Mom banked with two different banks. In the past tellers did a lot of tasks. Now you cannot open a bank account without making an appointment. One bank was fine to deal with, the other had to order a balance at time of death. That was on October 3. I am still waiting.