Woe is me (part 1)

TurboTax is my Brad Pitt. I mean, I hold that handsome little product up on a pedestool and pledge my deep devotion. ;) Seriously, I'm a TT fan for life. It all started about 4 years ago when my dad had a heart attack. He had been preparing my taxes for me since,..well,...always. The thing is, I am no financial whiz. And as far as taxes go, I have not clue one. But my Dad, on the other hand, loves numbers. And he really enjoyed doing taxes for anyone in the family who wanted him to. Me want!

So during the tax season of 2005, my dad had his heart attack and was unable to prepare our taxes. Now, for the record, my dad survived (quintuple bypass surgery) and that's all that truly matters in this little "woe is me" tax tale. But one fact still remains.

I'm not good with financial "stuff".

I'm not good with spread sheets, payable and receivable, or red and black either. And of all years to have to learn about taxes, it was the year my dh moved out of state, which of course meant filing in two states (and the following year it involved THREE states; I'm thinking God was proving a point, that He wasn't happy with my indifference to accounting class in the 11th grade? I"m just sayin'...)
Left to our own devices, TurboTax saved the day.
And has ever since.

So this year, we were all excited to have filed and hit the notorious SEND tab. That is, until the next day when the feds rejected our returns. OUCH!

It seems we forgot to change Brandon's name with social security(SS) when we finalized our adoption last year (I know). I called SS to see what we would need to bring in to make the change. I got one of those, you know, "lovely" automated voice systems, which btw, screamed at me. I am so serious when I say that. Apparently, I didn't answer with a prompt yes or no and I ticked the fake person off on the other end because the next thing I knew, "she" was screaming the question in my ear. Seriously, folks, screaming. The volume had been amplified like mega times louder. And I couldn't scream back either because "she" would have taken me back to the beginning of the options menu ("She" had all the power, I tell ya.)

So "she" told me, and I quote, DO NOT BRING IN A BIRTH CERTIFICATE. YOU MUST HAVE AN OFFICIAL COPY OF YOUR ADOPTION DECREE, NOT A NOTARIZED COPY. Okay well, being just a tad bit leary of the screaming automated voice system "she" (who clearly was not very stable), I waited patiently to be screamed at by a real person instead. And while the real person didn't actually raise her voice to me, she did basically call me a moron when she condescended, "Because M'am, you really needed to make that name change. Otherwise, when your son needs a driver's license, he won't be able to get one." Oh, how I wanted to fire back, "Exactly, sister, you got me there. Exposed my devious plot. I don't want my son to get a driver's license. Because then he might actually, what, drive, and we couldn't have that, now could we?"
Anyhoo (sheesh!), she verified that yes, I would only need to bring an official adoption decree to the SS office to get the name changed.
Great!
Dh would go the next day.
"Honey, I'm home. They couldn't do the name change because I didn't bring his birth certificate with me."
Well, excuse me while I scream. So clearly, my calling to check on the necessary documents (and subsequently being yelled at by the automated voice "she" AND being reprimanded by the live "she" for withholding driving privileges from my 2yo) was a complete waste of time. Fact was, we did need Brandon's birth certificate.
Swell, one small problem.
Forgot to name change that document post-adoption as well.

SOOOO.....TAX TIME COMETH AND YOU DON'T HAVE THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE THAT CHANGES THE SS NUMBER THAT PROMPTS THE FEDS TO ACCEPT YOUR TAXES. WHADDA YA DO?

Sure, we could file an extension, but that wouldn't be all complicated and crazy. Kind of like filing the 1040EZ. Why do that when you can sweat and toil over the 1040, right? ;)
Tune in next time when visit...the rest of the story.

Toni