Just a little, COVID-related inheritance drama:
April was very bad in NYC, as everyone knows. Hubby lost a grandmother and a grandfather, on the opposite sides of the family, within 3 days of each other. Grandpa was 93, still living at home w/the assistance of home health; his aide got the virus and could not get a test, but by the time she had symptoms, Grandpa was affected, I can't imagine how many others. he tested positive and was doing well for 3 weeks, but ultimately took a turn for the worse and spent 2 days in the hospital, where he was given medicine to be comofrtable before the inevitable occurred. His son and wife were able to keep him company for a short while in the hospital, followed by quarantine, but they did not catch anything. He went straight to cremation, and with most of the family living in other states, well, not much we can do there.
Grandmother had turned 98 earlier the same week, lived in a Medicaid nursing home for many years. We recieved conflicting info, but understandable, given the craziness. As it turned out, she's a suspected covid case; 1 person on her floor tested positive, and we were just notified that she had passed on. She left behind 2 sons - my FIL and his brother. We all live out of state, and Grandmother had a plot, so a burial was set up. Thankfully, the uncle and aunt on the other side of the family were kind enough to "attend" the burial as the only family living locally, which was a drive by of the casket being lowered into the grave.
Hubby broke quarantine to go see his Dad when we got word; this turned out to be a good move, b/c FIL moves slowly and is not saavy, so hubby was able to make the arrangements and FedEx the required original deed to the plot to the funeral director, so they were able to claim the body before it was moved to the cornoner's office and potentially buried in a mass grave. Being a Medicaid patient, pre-planning the funeral was required, so that part was simple. FIL was also not financially saavy, and lives on his social security income plus a small investment account that his wife managed not to completely spend before she passed a few years ago. I'm watching the account drain at a rate of 13%/year, so we all know that's not good, but it is what it is. His brother is much younger and well off; homeowner, 2 kids that are a few years out of college and received full rides to good universities, a working wife, lots of travel up until the pandemic. He was downsized a few years ago, but opted to simply retire at that point, as he was able to collect SS early - no idea if he has or hasn't. He also has been mostly un-involved in his mother's care, or his parents aging, during most of his adult life, generally regarded as selfish by FIL and an older brother who passed years ago.
None of us even considered that since the arrangements were cut short due to covid, that there would be a credit balance with the funeral home; if we had considered it, we would have assumed property of the state as a very small reimbursement for the many years of care in the nursing home. But not the brother!! Funeral director calls FIL days after the burial, and he has an awkward question - does he have a brother? Long story short, brother called the funeral home, asking what the balance was on the account, and when he would be receiving his half! Just, wow. I have no doubt that the casket took up most of the funds; guesstimating from my own mother's service about a year ago, I'd be surprised if there was $2K in the account, to cover the wake and the funeral mass that couldn't take place.
The greed of people never ceases to amaze!
