Life seems to be full of one little crisis after another lately. All minor, but frustrating just the same.
My Dad lives in Florida. He's 87. I have a half-sister, his stepdaughter, that lives a few blocks from him but she's about useless.
Dad decided earlier this month to close his bank account that he's had since the early 90s; goodness knows why. When he closed the account, no one at the bank bothered to ask him if he had checks outstanding that needed to be covered.
A few days before he closed the account Dad wrote out checks on that account to each of us kids (me and my 5 half-siblings) as Christmas gifts and to pay his utility bills. The sister that lives close to him asked for her christmas money early - of course, in October, so that takes one check out of the running.
Now he's trying to do damage control, by finding out which checks cleared and which didn't.
I just spent an hour on the phone with him trying to help him figure it out. I'd about have it straightened out, using his last printout from the bank - dated December 15th - as his reference, when he'd pick up his November statement and get himself all confused again.
Dad still has too much of an independant streak to turn over power of attorney.
Whenever he calls, about financial or medical issues, I try to help out as much as possible but there's only so much I can do long-distance and without power of attorney to ask questions and get answers.
I'm just frustrated and venting.
My Dad lives in Florida. He's 87. I have a half-sister, his stepdaughter, that lives a few blocks from him but she's about useless.
Dad decided earlier this month to close his bank account that he's had since the early 90s; goodness knows why. When he closed the account, no one at the bank bothered to ask him if he had checks outstanding that needed to be covered.
A few days before he closed the account Dad wrote out checks on that account to each of us kids (me and my 5 half-siblings) as Christmas gifts and to pay his utility bills. The sister that lives close to him asked for her christmas money early - of course, in October, so that takes one check out of the running.
Now he's trying to do damage control, by finding out which checks cleared and which didn't.
I just spent an hour on the phone with him trying to help him figure it out. I'd about have it straightened out, using his last printout from the bank - dated December 15th - as his reference, when he'd pick up his November statement and get himself all confused again.
Dad still has too much of an independant streak to turn over power of attorney.
Whenever he calls, about financial or medical issues, I try to help out as much as possible but there's only so much I can do long-distance and without power of attorney to ask questions and get answers.
I'm just frustrated and venting.
