The phone rang at 2 a.m., January 11. In a sleepy haze I attempted to grab the phone off the nightstand but it went to message. My wife, half asleep, asked who called. I played back the message…”Hello, this is doctor so-and-so. Please call me.”
A doctor calling at two in the morning is not good. My wife said that she couldn’t handle bad news at the moment and would call him in the morning. We attempted to go back to sleep. Thirty minutes later, the phone rang again. I answered. It was the same doctor calling to say that my wife’s brother, Johnny, had passed away and asked what she wanted to do.
We were saddened but not surprised. My BIL contracted Covid in December and had been in a coma and on a ventilator in ICU for three weeks.
My wife was his last living relative but not his guardian or power of attorney. There was nothing she could do at that hour of the morning. Needless to say, she was upset and could not go back to sleep for the remainder of the night. I wasn’t too happy with the doctor. Why can’t doctors wait until morning when people are awake to deliver bad news?
My BIL was a private person who lived alone. We didn’t know if he had a will or a final directive. The following day I drove to his home, an hour away. I asked a neighbor lady if she had a key to his house. She didn’t and hadn’t seen Johnny for over a month. I explained the situation, told her my intention to break into the house and asked that she not call the police.
There was one window on the backside that was unlocked but I was apprehensive to go in because of the virus. Once inside I found a slew of letters on the floor under the mail slot, junk mail and bills that needed paying. I searched the house but could not find a will or funereal directive. There was a checkbook but no register of transactions. I found a loaded handgun, a hunting rifle and one shotgun. I took the weapons. I also took his laptop but am unable to access it because it’s password protected.
I informed the bank of his passing but they could give me no information. There is nothing we, or they, can do until we receive the death certificates and my wife is appointed executor. We have retained a lawyer to guide us through the process.
I paid his funeral expenses hoping to get reimbursed at some point. For me, $12K is no small amount. His financial status and debts are unknown. Sometime in the near future we will have to deal with his house and possessions.
I’m very sad Johnny passed but a bit frustrated that everything was left so up in the air. Johnny was only 67 and I suppose he didn’t give that much thought to dying.
A doctor calling at two in the morning is not good. My wife said that she couldn’t handle bad news at the moment and would call him in the morning. We attempted to go back to sleep. Thirty minutes later, the phone rang again. I answered. It was the same doctor calling to say that my wife’s brother, Johnny, had passed away and asked what she wanted to do.
We were saddened but not surprised. My BIL contracted Covid in December and had been in a coma and on a ventilator in ICU for three weeks.
My wife was his last living relative but not his guardian or power of attorney. There was nothing she could do at that hour of the morning. Needless to say, she was upset and could not go back to sleep for the remainder of the night. I wasn’t too happy with the doctor. Why can’t doctors wait until morning when people are awake to deliver bad news?
My BIL was a private person who lived alone. We didn’t know if he had a will or a final directive. The following day I drove to his home, an hour away. I asked a neighbor lady if she had a key to his house. She didn’t and hadn’t seen Johnny for over a month. I explained the situation, told her my intention to break into the house and asked that she not call the police.
There was one window on the backside that was unlocked but I was apprehensive to go in because of the virus. Once inside I found a slew of letters on the floor under the mail slot, junk mail and bills that needed paying. I searched the house but could not find a will or funereal directive. There was a checkbook but no register of transactions. I found a loaded handgun, a hunting rifle and one shotgun. I took the weapons. I also took his laptop but am unable to access it because it’s password protected.
I informed the bank of his passing but they could give me no information. There is nothing we, or they, can do until we receive the death certificates and my wife is appointed executor. We have retained a lawyer to guide us through the process.
I paid his funeral expenses hoping to get reimbursed at some point. For me, $12K is no small amount. His financial status and debts are unknown. Sometime in the near future we will have to deal with his house and possessions.
I’m very sad Johnny passed but a bit frustrated that everything was left so up in the air. Johnny was only 67 and I suppose he didn’t give that much thought to dying.
