DEAR JEANNE & LEONARD: My 92-year-old mother gets Social Security and a pension from the military, but she lives in an assisted-living facility, and these payments don't cover all of her expenses. My brother and I chip in when we can, but still she's able to pay only the minimum amount on her credit card bill every month. What will happen to the balance she owes after her death? My brother's wondering if we should delay telling Social Security and Department of Veterans Affairs about Mom's death until her debts have been cleared.
-- Kim
DEAR KIM: When someone dies, his or her debts become the responsibility of his or her estate. In most instances, if the estate is unable to pay all of them, the creditors are not repaid in full.
The law requires you to promptly notify the Department of Veterans Affairs and Social Security when your mother dies (funeral homes are prepared to help with this). If you fail to notify them and continue to accept their checks, you'll find yourselves in a lot of trouble (think fraud). So please don't do that. But do buy an hour of a lawyer's time and do it now. There's more you and your brother need to know to protect your mother, her estate and yourselves.
DEAR JEANNE & LEONARD: Recently, the board of the conservation organization I work for brought in a master-of-business-administration type to be our chief operating officer. Unfortunately, his preoccupation is with cost-cutting and with turning us into what he calls a "more businesslike operation." I suppose there are organizations where his approach might be appropriate, but ours isn't one of them. Consequently, I'm doing everything I can to undermine the implementation of his wrongheaded and morally bankrupt plans. Some of my friends think that what I'm doing is unethical. But I'm convinced it would be far worse to simply stand by while Mr. Bottom Line dismantles important programs -- and when I say "important," I mean important to the planet. Am I right?
-- S.S.
DEAR S.S.: Simmer down.
If you disapprove of the direction in which the board and the COO are taking the organization, by all means leave and go to work for an organization of whose goals and leadership you approve. But don't accept a paycheck while trying to subvert the organization and people who are paying you. That, as your friends correctly point out, is unethical.
The sabotage you've embarked on and the overheated rhetoric with which you defend it might be appropriate were you a North Korean nuclear scientist forced to develop weapons for Kim Jong-un. But you aren't developing nuclear weapons, and Mr. Bottom Line isn't a ruthless dictator. He was installed by the board of directors, and it's the board, not you, that's responsible for setting the direction of the organization. So if you believe your boss is doing serious damage, tell them. They undoubtedly want to save the planet every bit as much as you do.
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Family on 03/22/2017