Tax Trouble

Recently my dad got an overdue credit card bill notice in the mail. He did not understand why. And he was too flustered to deal with it. I tried to step in. The credit card company made it difficult because they only wanted to talk with my dad. Eventually I got it all sorted out.

Then my dad told me about his tax problems. He went to a preparer to get his taxes done last year. Then a refund check came in the mail. But it was payable to my mom who had passed away. I called up the IRS. They told me there was no way that would happen. They also were reluctant to speak with anyone but my dad.

So I worked over at my dad's house today. I had some emergencies at work to deal with. That just meant I skipped lunch. However I needed to deal with dad's refund issue. I called the IRS who took a long time to answer. But when I finally spoke to someone, I found out what went down.

Dad's tax preparer filled out his tax return wrong. It directed to send dad's refund to the care of my mom. Fail. I found out everything we need to do to get this straightened out. Dad might be getting to old to deal with details like this. Perhaps my brother or I may need to get a power of attorney from my dad so we can take care of his business ourselves. Not easy.