Dean(ish)

I’ve been dealing with my dad’s “estate”. He didn’t own much but he did have a few junky cars a small chunk of change in his bank account that we could certainly use, especially as the never-ending consumer-focused Christmas season approaches. Getting to that chunk of change, however, has proven to be somewhat of a challenge.

Initially, I didn’t know what to do about getting the money from his account - I figured the death certificate and my driver’s license, identical to my father’s name aside from “Jr” at the end, would be enough. I should’ve known better. In his US Bank account, they allowed me to sign an affidavit to close and recover assets from my dad’s account - all $10 and some cents. In my dad’s other bank account, however, there’s significantly more money. Perhaps it’s because they’re a credit union, or perhaps because of the amount in question. Either way, they’re policy is that they require a note from the State that says I’m the legal heir before I can withdraw such funds.

Not knowing what to do from here, I called a law office for advice. They said they could help me get the money, but it would cost about $1000. ‘Holy crap,’ I thought to myself. But hey, if they can get me the rest of the money then that’s not too bad of a trade-off in the end.

I thought about the situation after speaking to the lawyer: ‘There’s gotta be a better way of doing this, a way I can get it done on my own without spending a small fortune.’ I called the funeral home where my dad was cremated to see what advice they offered. After I spoke with the funeral home owner for a few minutes, I learned that there’s a Small Estate Claim Form that I can get for just over $1 which, upon filing, should give me rights to the estate. He directed me to a place called Stevens-Ness. Weird name, but OK, I’ll give it a shot.

Tuesday morning, I went to Stevens-Ness to see if they had what I was looking for. To my relief, they did. I filled out the form to the best of my ability; I was even able to get it notarized right there in the store. Diagonally across the street from the store is the Multnomah County Court House, so I hopped over to turn in the form.

The security guards directed me to the correct room within the court. Upon speaking with the clerk, I learned that I have to wait 30 days after my dad’s passing to make a claim to his estate. Although this made absolutely no sense to me - what’s he gonna do, rise from the ashes? - at least I had all the proper documentation to get this taken care of when the time comes.

I went to my dad’s house earlier today, despite the fact that I feel like utter crap because I have a cold, to look through some more of his things. Debbie, my dad’s girlfriend, has been getting rid of most of the furniture and stuff in the house. She wants to start over; I don’t blame her. There are really only a few things I want from the house - my dad’s record collection, some old wrestling toys, a bike, and just a select few other things. It was weird being in the house, the first house I lived in since moving back to Portland, without the furniture in the living room and the crap that seemed to never end on the tables. Searching through the garage, I found an old note from Kayti (my first real flame from high school and wife of Christina’s ex-boyfriend) and a picture of me and some classmates who went through the YES program. It’s kinda funny what death can bring sometimes.

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