I haven't posted for a while. But I have a good reason. It seems I've been dead! I've been feeling surprisingly normal all things considered. It came to light when I tried to electronically file my taxes and it was rejected.
So I skyped the Social Security Administration's 800-number where, after three 50-minute waits on hold I was told various things, such as, "You need to go to Costa Rica to the Federal Benefits Unit there." (As humorist/columnist Dave Barry would say, 'I'm not making this up!'). I checked my social security online account and found that the money I paid to SS in 2017 appeared as $0. I called SS again to be told that a trip to the Costa Rica unit was my best chance for sorting things out.
I called the IRS 800-number and a very helpful employee (as if the 'S' in IRS really stands for Service) finally found the problem. When Amy died, they turned the death indicator on for me instead of for her! And since I didn't owe anything on my 2017 return they just 'discarded' it! Though it isn't really discarded. It is still in the system, but I still have to refile a paper copy. Her manager is supposed to call me back to explain why I have to refile when they have it on file and it was their fault.
You may have heard that Alan Garcia, one of Peru's former presidents, killed himself last week to avoid a tribunal that was investigating him for bribery and misuse of public funds. Many Peruvians feel that he faked his death, paid off the appropriate people and escaped to Argentina. That doesn't seem so impossible to me anymore, just unnecessarily complicated.
