If Netflix makes it too difficult and you know her banking info, you can stop the automatic payment from her account. I would first contact Netflix though.

We're gonna try. We think it may be on her bankcard, and there's a new one anyway. If so, and we activate it (sissy buys Mom's medications and food with it), that should solve it.

That is what I would say, cut off the money. Easypeasy.

When I had to take care of some of these things for my dad, the different providers were generally pretty good about it. Give them a call and explain that you need to cancel on behalf of your mom due to medical issues.

My bigger issue is: What happens when it's another provider? This should be good practice.

When we need to do more "complicated" things. I can't think of anything yet, but I bet it's lurking in the background :/

Does she have an e-mail account that she gave to Netflix? Try googling the words netflix password and you will find a couple ways that you might be able to get into her account.

If you call and try to explain this to Netflix, I'm pretty sure they will have you jumping through hoops to prove that you are legally permitted to do this.

Stopping payment on the account is a bad way to go about this. You don't know what her contract with Netflix says, and you could make her liable for payments. I would try to get into her account and and close it.

You might try calling Netflix and identify yourself as your mother. But she may have answered some identifying questions so you'd better have an idea as to where she went to school, her father's birthday, etc. As I've gotten permissions on more of my father's accounts, I've had to be sure I keep track of that information.

Or, if you call Netflix the honest way, do it while with your mother so she can give permission over the phone for them to talk to you (if she is still able to say "yes, that's okay"). You can give her a "fiblet" to get her to cooperate. Then continue the conversation with Netflix in another room if you think it would upset her.

I think of these things like Facebook pages that just linger out there. No passwords so no way to shut them down or even post that the person died. It's a challenge. Before a dear one is NEEDING help their inclination is to not share. They tell us to not write down passwords...hang in there!!!

I meant to say, we are all legally able to do anything that is needed, both health and finance wise. Durable POAs. All three of us.

Replying to Arcy: I forget my passwords frequently, and it's an easy matter to request to have the password reset and sent to my e-mail account. So if rob333 has access to Mom's e-mail, they can get control of accounts, etc. pretty easily.

Actually, they DO tell you to write down your passwords. On paper.

I am thankful every day (I may add this to the Gratitude thread) that my father is so organized that he has a sheet with every login, my DH helped him put it together. I keep a copy in my secure file and I can manage most of his accounts now. I know they say not to write them down, but good golly, *I* can't remember all my passwords.

Even though my brother had financial POA for our mother, he was not inclined to act. I was able to close her multiple (!!) credit cards simply by pretending to be her when I called.

Sign in to her account but when it comes to entering 'password' click on the 'need help' link below the passwood block. They will send a link to her email to reset the password. Not sure if they will ask more security questions but it's a start. If you get into the account you can cancel from there.

If she doesn't use it, I would just cancel the account. I did it for my sister. I called Netflix and stated the problem and they cooperated.

Like annztoo said. Just log onto her account with her email, then click the "I forgot my password" link. They'll send you a password link via email. Change the password and you're in. You can cancel a Netflix account when you're in your mom's "profile." No calls to Netflix necessary.

Netflix is incredibly easy to deal with. I would just try calling to cancel first.....I doubt they will fuss at all about you not being the account holder once you explain the situation.

Or if you access the account online and request a password reset, they will just send/email that data.....no other questions asked (I just changed mine recently).

I'd probably go the "forgot my password" route with Netflix, but you mentioned this potentially coming up with other places. When we were dealing with these sorts of things with my dad, I found most were very helpful if you just explain the situation to them. You may need to jump through a few hoops, but I can't imagine many/any would give you problems. I learned the phrase "What do you need from me to get this taken care of?" It really does work.

I didn't read the other replies so this may have been suggested - if you want to cancel something on someone's behalf you may need a POA and send them a copy.

We had to do that to cancel my mom's phone and cable under the same circumstances that you are dealing with.

It sounds like NetFlix won't be any problem, but just for your future reference the easy way to do it is this:

Contact each bank/insurance company/other provider and tell them that your mother's health is declining and that you need to provide them with a copy of her POA. They'll provide instructions as to the mailing address and other info that needs to be provided with it. Mail a copy to each per the instructions that they provide.

After a couple of weeks (they need to get the POA into their records) you can contact them via any method you like and legally conduct any business for your mother.

When we were in this situation, we found voluntarily supplying the POA first made the companies more "user friendly" and allowed much quicker resolutions as we took care of various changes.

that's a really good idea, just go ahead and send it to any company she's working with. Bank is number one on the list. Thank you X 2 for that one!

I'm doing that with the bank today. Here's a link to a local person with her suggestions, based on her experience. Things to do along with the POA

Whew. We've already got a lot of that ready to go, but that is one terrific source of information bpath. I'm keeping that one. I love the mail suggestion.

All of my mom's mail is directed to me. There were a couple of things going to her care facility which had to be redirected to me. I always keep spare POA,s in her file just in case because there is always a "didn;t know that" around the corner.

If you are in the area of her bank it is quicker if you take the POA to the bank rather than send it. They will take a copy. Notate it in the file and return it to you. Most will not need to see the original POA so having a stack of photocopies handy is a very good idea.

For those that are not aware a POA stops when the person dies. For many things it will not matter but depending on your state's laws whoever is designated to handle any estate cannot pay bills from the person's bank account until the court has been notified and the person approved. If the bank knows about the death the account will be frozen until then. Depending on the bank they may or may not honor any bills that have been set up for automatic payment.

Which is why I was added as a joint signer (with right of survivorship) on all my mother's accounts.....in addition to having a durable POA. I was also named executor.

My mom was not disabled and was in full possession of all her faculties but she became ill enough and in and out of hopitals, nursing facilities and assisted living in the last year of her life so that leaving all that financial and medical legal stuff behind was a huge weight lifted for her. And life so much easier for me to manage and finally settle her affairs.

That blogsite that Bpath posted a link to has a lot of good information:

Life in Motion Guide Blog

Wow, great resource. I am marking it as well. You never know when you need that sort of advice.

Be very careful with that Life in Motion Guide Blog. There are several things that are not true that she posted. One is that a Conservator is the one that handles money not a court appointed Guardian. Social Security does accept POA's but they have to be the original signed document. Each state is a little different so check with your own attorney as to what is needed.

For those that are or will be added or adding Rights of Survivorship to any account be aware that this moves whatever is in that account outside of your estate and immediately with presentation of proof of death it becomes the property of the designated person. Do not do what a friend of mine is doing and designating a niece who is supposed to pass the money on to my friends grandchildren when they reach a certain age. The niece may but since the money would need to be distributed as a gift there will be tax consequences. I do not trust anyone that much.

Thanks, maifleur. The blog did prompt me to start asking questions I hadn't considered before, and I always recommend verifying financial and administrative information.

One thing I don't understand is if everyone should have a Representative for SS. I'd never heard of it before. The SS website, of course, isn't much help in explaining what it is.

That netherworld of "still here, but not really here" for our parents is tricky.

Also, my banker told me that a credit card does not survive the cardholder. Technically, you should let the credit card company know about the death. But it sounds like if you don't, and it isn't through the bank where you also have an account, the card might stay active.

We are working on getting permissions for other financial accounts, but hit a wall when we went to the notary at their facility, only to find he's on medical leave for a month and no one else has a stamp yet. I could probably find a "traveling notary" to make house calls, but this gives me time to collect forms from the rest of the accounts.

Since their house probably will not be sold before they are both gone, I'm making a list of everything that is auto-withdrawal from the bank and auto-billed to the credit card.

Notary: our public library offers notary service for free, and many real estate offices will also do it for free or low cost as a goodwill gesture. Most banks & credit unions offer it as a courtesy to their customers also -- so you could go to your own bank, if it is a different one.

Rae, I can, but my dad can't.

Oh, I see, "at their facility" I didn't catch that. You are doing a mighty task, good luck getting it all organized.

bpath while the card may not last past the death the debt does. I too have never seen where a representative was needed for SS unless she is meaning a Conservator. That was one of the things that I thought odd as SS when I notified them that my husband was declared incompetent and his money needed to go into a conservatorship account they were willing to accept a POA or my documents. If your parents are competent you only need one POA for financial rather than several permissions.

If you go to church or belong to any groups ask if there is a notary among the group. If there is ask if they would be willing to go to your parents to notarize their signatures. You should have POA's from both which include both financial and medical.

When my husband died in January the funeral home that handled arrangements here offered for $99 to contact a company that notifies the credit bureaus that he had died. From there the information went to any place that he had an account. My attorney had told me that until the Conservatorship was closed I should leave his bank account open. Bank of America put a hold on his account. It did post his final pension check but would not accept the refund check from his nursing home so I had to deposit it into my own account as it was only good for 90 days. The notification and apparently a type of insurance that would cover any possible fraud sounded good but in retrospect it caused problems. Funeral homes do notify SS of deaths so you do not need to do that but should follow up with them when one or the other passes so that the other can receive the highest amount. There is a form on the SS site that you can complete that will tell you the documents needed for spousal benefits. The things that you will need are their marriage license/certificate and their birth corticates so if you do not have a copy you will need to obtain it.

Wow, I have no idea where their marriage licenses and birth certificates are! Holy smokes, guess I'll be having a talk with Dad soon.

I have a password book, much like an address book. I bought it from Amazon. My husband also has one. I put all my passwords into this book for that one day that if something happens to either of us, we can close down certain accounts, remove cc information, etc.,

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1441319069/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1