The NSW Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages has just convinced me that New South Wales is a bad place to die. I think it was on 10th October that I contacted them to say that dad's death certificate was full of errors, and I was told that some form was being sent out to me. Well, that never arrived. So, I called the Registry again today, waited the obligatory few minutes while inane 'messages' were spoken at me, and then explained the whole story once more.

This time I was told that a form could be sent out, no problem about that, but that there was rather a backlog and we would not get a corrected death certificate for about three months. I was instead advised to take the original document, in person, to the Registry office in Sydney, and wait in line. Apparently, if I get there early (they open at 8:30 am) I might be able to get the corrected form later the same day.

How cheering and helpful this all is. Meanwhile, I have collected a few more 'deceased estate' forms. The bureaucracy is frankly overwhelming. Several companies demand original documents. Nearly all want to see documents that have been notarised. I can see days of form-shuffling going up in smoke.

The lesson appears to be this - get your elderly parents to simplify their affairs as much as possible before they die, before they get too demented to do anything, and before they start losing papers - if you can. And good luck.