After the service we met up at my eldest brother's house. It was nice to see childhood friends I had not seen in years. The laughter was rest for a bleeding heart. We ordered more food since we were blessed to see the out pour of support. My youngest brother volunteered to pay for the additional food and that set something off in his wife and she didn't wait to let it be known.
As we (the core paying siblings) were getting ready to split the bill evenly, my youngest brother said, "Nah, don't worry about it. I got it." We asked if he was sure, and he said, "yes." She looked at him and said, "Why are you paying for everything. We have bills just like they do." My younger brother said to her with a low, stern, and confident voice, "Don't worry about it, trust me. I know what I'm doing." Grudgingly, she stopped complaining and turned the other way.
This is a great place to insert a reminder. Prior to her living in a shelter, I alone paid mother's rent, water, cable, power, and pocket money; and here is his wife complaining about spending a couple hundred dollars on chicken for people who showed my mother more love than she ever had. Okay, back to the point.
Days after I returned to Atlanta, I received a call from my younger brother saying he received a piece of paper from the social security department about mother's claim. He had interpreted the document as naming him the sole beneficiary of her claim, however, when he called they wouldn't speak with him. He asked if I could help. Now, based on the information he provided I knew something was wrong. Mother died without a Will which meant any property that was awarded to her would go to all of her children. So of course...I can help.
I called the social security office, and with my legal expertise, I was able to break the veil and get them to update me on the account. My younger brother was not named as a sole beneficiary, he was just named as a local contact. In fact, they had new information for us. In her death, mother's social security claim was approved and had been awarded back pay since the date of her initial claim. My brother was confused. This letter was the confidence behind the, "Don't worry about it, trust me. I know what I'm doing." Now he would be receiving a fraction of what he'd banked on. Thanks, mom.
S
Comments