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.