By: Barb Matz, for the Sun This Week
5/28/2020
To the editor:
I would like to thank U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, D-Eagan, for helping me solve a problem.
According to a May 6 NPR article, thousands of deceased people are receiving $1,200 government reimbursement checks for pandemic relief. My mother passed away in January 2018, and she was one of the recipients. Since I was the executor of her estate, the check came to me.
I was pretty shocked. I had no idea what to do with this check; it came with no letter or explanation of what to do if the recipient had died. I tried looking on the IRS website and contacted my attorney who advised me not to cash it. I saw the NPR article that mentioned many people in the same situation who also tried, to no avail, to find out what to do. A woman from Texas even contacted her senators, and received form letters with no answer.
It was important to me to return the money, first, because it was illegal for me to keep it, and second, because there are others out there who really need it.
Within 24 hours, Craig’s office supplied me with an address. The efficiency and speed with which I got an answer was impressive. This is how government is supposed to work: for the people.
Barb Matz
Northfield