I thought this only happens in television sitcoms

Some news from Pennsylvania. Hat tip- Cafe Oregano where Richard says you only live twice.

HERSHEY, PA-September 21, 2005 - Stuart Matt says he's alive. But the Social Security Administration doesn't seem to know it.

Matt received a postcard from his bank, addressed to his own estate. It noted his death, and said Social Security had withdrawn his July check.

At first, Matt and his wife Joanne, of Derry Township, laughed at the mixup, assuming it would be quickly resolved.

Then they got a letter from the Veterans Administration telling Joanne that as Matt's widow she was eligible for his life insurance benefits.

A month went by, and the 70-year-old man was still dead – on paper. That left him unable to claim Medicare benefits for surgery in early September at the Hershey Medical Center.

To continue covering his monthly bills, Matt has had to draw on a home-equity line of credit while awaiting his three missing Social Security checks, which total about 51-hundred dollars.