A Lesson After Dying in Things That I'm Grateful For

My grandfather died this morning. Don’t get too excited, it wasn’t the one we’ve been praying will die for ages, it was another of my grandfathers. (I have 3 remaining grandfathers and only one grandmother left.)

The side of my family to whom he belonged is not as wealthy as the other side and they are struggling financially to figure out how to pay for everything. People are coming together to max out credit cards and it’s become this sad lesson in death. It’s incredibly sad how little preparation our system has in place for those who die. And even after you die, financial woes aren’t over.

My aunt who died nearly ten years ago had her identity stolen and someone was opening credit cards and charging things in her name and now the credit company wants the next of kin to pay the debt accrued after her death because THEY issued a credit card to a dead person. Fuck credit card companies… I mean, they fuck you.

It’s ludicrous. So, today I got my company’s benefits package and immediately signed up for life insurance. At the very least, I won’t burden my family with a bunch of ridiculous debt while they figure out what the hell to do with my body.