Laura Berman
The Detroit News
August 29, 2013
Detroit’s funeral directors received this unusual text message last month. “FYI, city of Detroit can’t process death certificates because they have no paper and don’t have money to buy any.”
The message, from a fellow funeral director, was mostly true: The city did stop issuing certified copies of birth and death certificates on July 23, days after the July 18 bankruptcy filing. That day, a nervous paper vendor demanded cash — and the city wanted to do business as usual, on credit.
FYI: In bankrupt and frequently bizarre Detroit, dying is easy. It’s proving you are dead that’s hard.
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