../../../..//2007/11/12/how-to-write-a-will/
How to write a will online for less than $100. [US News and World Report]
death
Accidental Deaths On The Rise: Poisoning Deaths Increasing Quickly
By 9.26.07
People! You are accidentally poisoning yourselves! What the hell? Stop it.
3 Ways To Make Sure Your Pets Are Cared For After You're Gone
By 9.11.07
Earlier this month, the media reported that dead scary lady Leona Helmsley left $12 million to her dog, presumably to ensure that Trouble is well cared for, but also to be humorously cruel to the two grandchildren who got nothing. This inspired USA Today’s “Your Money” columnist Sandra Block to list 3 ways you can plan for your pet’s continued care after you go to “have tea with Mrs. Helmsley” (we don’t want to upset the children in the room).
How To Save On Funeral Expenses
By 7.21.07
Dearly beloved, we gather here today to remember that the funeral industry is a sales-based profession with tips and tricks like any other. Consumers often lower their guard in deference to the pain and reverence that accompanies funeral planning; yet just because you are bereaved, doesn’t mean you should be taken for a sap. Here are a few tips to keep funeral costs manageable:
Serious Magnet Toy Injury Prompts Another Recall
By 7.6.07
Poorly constructed toys with strong magnets are the cause of another serious injury to a child. The 8 year-old swallowed two small magnets that had broken off of “Mag Stix” a magnetic toy manufactured in China. The magnets attracted inside her body, perforating her intestines and requiring surgery.
Walmart Took Secret Life Insurance Policies Out On Employees, Collected After Their Death
By 7.3.07
Armatrout was one of about 350,000 employees Wal-Mart secretly insured nationwide, said Texas attorney Michael D. Myers, who estimated the company collected on 75 to 100 policies involving Florida employees who died.
Funeral Home Offers Discount For Sam's Club Members
By 5.4.07
Reader Emily sends us the above photo. She writes: This is directly across from the stoplight at the exit of the shopping center where Sam’s Club is located in Kirkwood, Missouri. If you have to stop at the light while leaving, it’s not possible to miss it.
When Your Bank Says You're Dead, But You're Demonstrably Alive
By 5.4.07
Poor Madeline Coburn. She’s not dead, but her credit is. A mix up at her bank and a mysterious phone call led to her being listed as dead.
Lawsuit: American Airlines Let Dead Body Sit In Locked Bathroom For 2 Hours
By 4.13.07
The passenger, Taisuke Matsuo, 66, apparently had a heart attack on an American Airlines flight from Tokyo to Chicago during the first leg of a trip home to Indianapolis, according to the lawsuit filed Monday by his wife, Carolyn D. Watts.
Corpse On A Plane: Dead Woman Moved To First Class
By 3.19.07
Paul Trinder, who awoke to see the body at the end of his row, last week described the journey as “deeply disturbing”, and complained that the airline dismissed his concerns by telling him to “get over it”.
Using a Portable Generator Indoors Can “Kill You in Minutes”
By 1.10.07
According to the CPSC, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of deaths caused by people using portable generators indoors, so a new label is being required on all portable generators. ” The CO produced by one generator is equal to the CO produced by hundreds of running cars. It can incapacitate and kill consumers within minutes.”
Wendy’s Lies About Trans Fats
By 11.6.06
CR tests find trans fats in Wendy’s fries [ConsumerReports.org]
Beware: Falling Street Lights
By 10.26.06
From the recall notice: “The lighting fixtures could fall from their lamp posts…This poses a risk of injury for persons beneath the lighting fixtures.”
How Do You Prove You’re Not Dead?
By 10.25.06
Continuing our foray into the consumer macabre, a reader complains about being dead.
Taking Passwords to the Grave
By 9.25.06
Reader JP, sends us this little tidbit about accessing online information after someone has passed away. From CNET: As more and more people move their lives, address books, calendars, financial information, online, they are taking a risk that some information formerly filed away in folders and desks might never be recovered. That is, unless they share their passwords, which poses security threats.
Divorce from the Crypt
By 7.7.06
You may be old and impotent. Your belly might hang over your pants like an engorged, hairy sack. But you gots the moneys, which means you gots the wimmins. Just remember to divorce your trophy bride before she puts that pick through your brain, because the alternative — signing divorce papers entombed within the cold, oblivious earth — is more trouble than its worth.
