The Costs of Dying

by on June 30, 2022 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

Mom and I planned for a lot of things in the last few months. I bought her house and paid off the mortgage so if she lived she would never have another house payment to make in her life. We got me added as a joint-owner to all of her checking and savings accounts so I could pay her bills while she was in the hospital. I’ve paid off many of her debts, and really brought her down to owing very little in the grand scheme of things. I was planning to use one of the accounts to pay her cremation costs, but I just lost access to it. It seems she had a personal loan at that bank, so they locked all the funds in her accounts in that bank down to cover as much of the loan as possible. That was not what I wanted to find out today. It isn’t a full disaster. I have the money to pay the funeral home in another joint account, but I really wanted to keep that account in reserve for a while longer to handle surprise expenses.

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Memorial Service

by on June 29, 2022 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

We will be having a memorial service for my mom at Maine Presbyterian Church at 2pm on July 16th. This is in Maine Township. I’ve also seen it noted as in Underwood, Minnesota. Everyone is invited to come if you want. I still have to nail down if there will be sandwiches and drinks afterwards like was always the case before covid. The service will be followed by a burial across the road at Silent Vale Cemetery, four rows down from where her father and mother are buried. There will also be a much smaller ceremony on Star Lake, one of mom’s favorite places in all the world, earlier in the day. If you have a boat and want to celebrate mom on Star Lake with us, contact me or Uncle Arlan privately for the exact time and launch point.

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Dying

by on June 28, 2022 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

Dying can be expensive. Don’t get me wrong. Me and Mom prepared for this. We spent the last few months making sure I could keep her finances running if the worst happened, while we hoped for the best. I bought her house and paid it off. And we did numerous other small and sundry things to make certain that things wouldn’t slip through the cracks. But even so, dying can be expensive. Cremation costs. Burial costs. Service costs. I don’t even know what all costs there will be. This is my first time organizing someone’s End of Life, but the cremation alone is a thousand dollars. I expect other costs to pile on, so I am looking for donations to help defray them. I’ve created a pair of donation campaigns if you feel comfortable giving something. Thank you in advance for any help you can give.

https://www.givesendgo.com/G3DU1

https://www.gofundme.com/f/judy-prohaska

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Louis

by on June 27, 2022 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

The collapse of Louis Mattioli’s old law firm covered the front pages of every major news network. It had everything needed to hold the public’s attention for at least a few days. Corrupt partners disappearing into the stars. Employees left high and dry at a firm too broke to even pay their wages. And then there was Louis. His first reaction to the news was to guarantee their wages while the bankruptcy court went to work. As long as they were willing to work for him, of course. There were a number of companies looking for legal representation after all, and he would need a large number of employees to service those contracts. Many of the firm’s employees accepted his offer, including a majority of the old timers who had been around when he built the place, and Louis massively expanded the reach of his firm in a matter of days. He did not pick up all the contracts, since many companies wanted out of the whole situation, but he picked up enough to easily pay his new employees.

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Louis

by on June 26, 2022 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

The law firm Louis built did not survive the debacle outside the Alpha Centauri Supreme Court. Not because Louis escalated his tactics, mind you. He stayed well away from anything that might be considered an escalation. But no one wanted to be represented by the firm trying to kill the folk hero named Louis Mattioli. They may just be stories and rumors, and Louis never called the new partners out, but the companies still doing business with them could no longer ignore the stories. Every major corporation on Earth and Alpha Centauri ended their contracts with the law firm and that sounded their death knell. The partners were not ones to admit defeat easily though. They snatched up all of the fungible assets the firm still had, and went to the stars with enough money to finance very comfortable lives on planets that lacked extradition treaties with Earth. The firm quickly collapsed behind them.

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