Tuesday, November 25, 2008

New Old Problem

When I first set up a bank account for my parents, I found it was impossible because of the Patriot Act to include my mother officially in it. That is because she never drove, so didn't have a driver's license, was not born in the US, although she is a naturalized citizen, and I couldn't get the DMV to give her an ID card because she might be a terrorist. Yep. A 92 year old Jewish lady from South Africa is really a threat, isn't she?
We tend to think of the Patriot Act as being a threat to our broad Constitutional rights, but it really intrudes on the tiny minutae of our everyday lives, especially when it comes to banking and the like.
Consequently, I have a problem. I cannot bank the checks sent to her by the insurance company and other places. I don't know what to do about it. I will try calling Social Security and see if they will send me a letter declaring to the bank that I am her representative. The statement from Medicare, addressed to me for her, wasn't good enough for them, and I can't find the letter that initially stated that I am her representative. What a pain.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

How did your mom cash checks before she became unable to take care of her business?

Last Sunday, "60 Minutes" did a piece on the deportation of foreign-born widows of Americans, including widows who have children with their deceased American spouses.

Robbi N. said...

Oh my God. That's terrifying! My mom is a naturalized citizen, but I don't know if that will make much difference in this sort of climate. They'd have to take her out over my dead body, but I'm sure that could be arranged.
RE: checks before she was incapacitated, my dad and she had a bank account in Philadelphia, pre Patriot Act. Now they won't put an account in her name without a CA ID, and I can't get one for her.