The drive to see ABI Brother yesterday wasn't too bad. R hates freeway driving and prefers not to. I hate freeway driving for different reasons, mainly people in the two right hand lanes not driving at the speed limit, or worse, varying their speed so much. 100/60 is not too challenging, surely.
I sold my old phone to ABI Brother and he is not particularly interested in the phone. I sorted a couple of things out on his phone and added two apps, the AFL, football app and the BOM app, Bureau of Meteorology.
R was in a bit of a mood but we only stayed at ABI Brother's home for an hour. We discovered that he already has Mother's death certificate and the cause of death was aspiration. She vomited and breathed it into her lungs. Who would have thought that was the way she would go.
We discovered ABI Brother is a little confused about the $10,000 he withdrew from Mother's bank account to pay for her funeral and then put the payment on his credit card. We discovered that he will continue to receive the carer's pension for thirteen weeks after Mother's death, around $500 a week. We discovered that, I guess as part of Mother's aged care package, he received a cheque for $6000 for Mother's funeral from whatever government department.
I wrote down some arithmetic for him, $10,000 for the funeral, less $6,000 from the government equals $4000 divided by four siblings. So he owes us, including his share, each $1000. Actually it is a bit more than that but I can't remember why now.
We discovered he is going to sell his house and move to a retirement village. We took a drive around where he wants to move to and it all looks very nice. Every place looked occupied so maybe there is a waiting list. But then I think the company probably ensures every place look occupied.
We discovered the gardener who Mother employed as part of her aged care package will continue to tend to his garden and he is now paying for that himself.
We discovered the cleaner who Mother employed as part of her aged care package will not continue. I used his toilet. He needs a cleaner.
R and I lunched at the Great Australian Bakery, very nice. Mother did not like it as she caught her hand in a toilet door there and refused to lunch there again.
We were back home by 2pm. At 7pm ABI Brother rang. He had recalculated things and he now owes us a couple of hundred dollars. Bro, what about the $6000? He was unsure. He is going to call the company who he employs to deal with social security tomorrow for clarification. Good luck with that Bro. It will be Sunday.
Once home, I read blog posts that I hadn't gotten around to this morning. The clip posted by Yorkshire Pudding amused me greatly. It's lucky that Spike died before Charles became king and could say 'off with his head'.
I've posted this before but it was some time ago. Spike Milligan was subsequently banned from studios by the ABC, our publicly funded national broadcaster. Aside from the humour, the newsreader's speaking voice is so interesting. The ABC was on the cusp of great change, from being a BBC imitation to having a truly Australian identity. I saw the newsreader out at gay bars a couple of times in the 80s and once I sidled up near to him to hear how he was speaking to mates, and there was nothing false about his level above educated Australian speech. That was how he spoke and it sounded nice in person.
Anyway, here is the two minute audio clip that had Spike banned.
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The aftermath of a loved one's passing can be very trying. Best wishes, Andrew.
ReplyDeleteYes Darla but our teary time seems to have passed with just a feeling of sadness at times.
DeleteWhen my mother passed away in 2017 I didn't grieve badly as I'd expected. Besides the fact her failing cognitive abilities seemed to have taken her away years prior, she'd endured a lot of pain through the years. So at least her suffering ended. Also, sad to say, I'm glad she doesn't have to see the state of the world these days. ~sigh~
DeleteYeah, the freeway drivers driving 20km below speed limit often give me a nightmare. I often see drivers on the freeway stopping the car to give way to the cars emerging into the traffic. Everyone seems to have too much time on the roads.
ReplyDeleteRoentare, I think we experience the same frustrations.
DeleteDo you need to have a family meeting to sort out the money. If your brother is disabled you would not want him being ripped off by agencies or social security . The same goes for retirement homes
ReplyDeleteAnon, he is very forgetful but he manages reasonably well. We know to keep a close eye on him. In the past he tried to invest money in get rich quick schemes and we had to bail him out or dissuade him.
DeleteYou sold your old phone to ABI brother? Why not just give it to him? When "no-one" upgraded to a new phone she gave me her old one completely free, all I had to do was swap my sim card from my old phone to her old phone. With brother needing a cleaner, I hope he gets a place in a retirement village quickly, but do they have cleaning services on hand? I don't know anything about them.
ReplyDeleteI have done so with him in the past with old phones. My old phone was actually worth a few hundred dollars. He has a very good phone now and he has his own money. I thought he might value the phone more if he had to pay for it. It seems not. The units he is looking at are self contained and don't come with any help. That is up to the resident. I am sure there are cleaners who are employed by various residents and he can ask.
DeleteYay Spike.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with sorting out the final details. I hope your brother gets a place that suits him soon.
EC, disregarding how much money he received for caring for Mother, he did a marvellous job that us other three could not have done.
DeleteSo is that Spike heckling an actual newscaster attempting to do a straight broadcast, or was the whole thing a put-on? I can't tell!
ReplyDeleteKirk, it was the real thing. Spike interrupted the news.
DeleteOur gov't gives us American $250 for death benefits.
ReplyDeleteCoffee is on, and stay safe.
Dora, that will pay for flowers for the funeral I suppose.
DeleteIf it is any consolation Mother's cause of death is not uncommon in the elderly. It is not as horrific as it sounds. Leads to aspirational pneumonia and a somewhat gentle death.
ReplyDeleteI hope ABI brother gets things sorted out. He must be feeling a bit discombobulated with the loss of his mum.
I love Spike Milligan.
Thanks Caro. I am reassured and I think that is exactly what happened.
DeleteThat's funny, that clip. Wow, here SS I think might contribute $200 to a funeral expense. For that you might get a couple large brick blocks and a cargo net to drop your beloved in a deep lake as burial.
ReplyDeleteStrayer, is that the way you would like to go? We can do that.
DeleteI didn't get any government contribution towards my mother's funeral but now you've mentioned it I think I missed out there.
ReplyDeleteMarie, I would guess that if you were already in the social security system, it would be automatic. If like here, self funded get eff all.
DeleteI hope R is in better humour now.
ReplyDeleteMy husband loves the Goons but I have to be in the right mood for them, though I always liked Michael Bentine (one of the original Goons) and Harry Secombe.
He is JB. You may not be surprised to learn that my favourite Goons episode was The Last London Tram.
DeleteWe dont get anything towards funeral expenses and no social security worth its name despite paying taxes.
ReplyDeleteME, yes I know. That isn't great yet in some parts of India there is such huge wealth.
DeleteMoney and family. Sometimes it is better to overlook the money.
ReplyDeleteTP, now I have a better understanding of the payment, all is well.
DeleteTim was the executor of his parents' wills. A couple of months ago, his sister had 'found' money that should have gone to her parents. She drove many miles to get the death certificate from Tim, swearing that she was going to split the money between the siblings. Tim gave it to her, knowing full well that she wouldn't. She didn't. There's no point to discussing it. She has always managed her money terribly, and is always struggling financially.
ReplyDeleteYour brother's struggles sound as if he needs a caretaker every bit as much as your mother did. Her needs were physical, his needs are not. What will happen to his deaf white dog who liked to stand on the roof?
Debby, that behaviour by your sister in law is just so typical of how people behave when there is an inheritance.
DeleteWe have to keep an eye and ear on what ABI Brother does, certainly. Sister's wife, Bone Doctor, is certain he is eligible for a disability pension which will keep him going for three years until he receives the age pension. Tradie Brother is the one with deaf Dog. Dog seems to be going ok now.
$10,000 for the funeral seems to be a common sort of cost, but I find it too high for most families. And the cost of the headstone later on will cost even more.
ReplyDeleteWe want to honour our parents, but the time before and after the death is a very emotional time to be making financial arrangements. Funeral insurance sounds gross, but it makes sense.
Hels, yes it could have been done with less fuss for perhaps half the price, but Mother had the money from the sale of her house, so we could afford it. She would have been happy with her funeral, and that was our main consideration. She was cremated and her ashes along with Step Father's ashes will be scattered at the beach at the bottom of Rose Avenue, Cowes, Phillip Island. That was her wish. I would ask how funeral insurance is a profitable product for companies to offer?
DeleteIt's easy to understand how Spike's natural irreverence would appeal to many Australians.
ReplyDeleteYP, it is said that Australians are irreverent. I think Geordies are too. I don't think Australia is alone there.
DeleteABI brother sounds as if he's rather confused and can't take the money factor into his brain and work it out correctly. He is probably worrying about it seeing as he phoned you after your visit. It will all work out.
ReplyDeleteMargaret, I now have a better understanding of the payment. The $6000 is a bereavment payment to say a spouse of someone receiving a government pension and this includes their carer, the amount depending on how long they were a carer.
DeleteMany families sadly experience problems when it comes to dividing money after their parents pass away. Hope it all gets sorted out between you and your brother.
ReplyDeleteSami, we all trust each other. It was just a matter of clarifying what the money was for. ABI mistakenly first said it was to pay for Mother's funeral. It wasn't.
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