STS Tax Talk: Judge Orders Man To Stay Dead Despite His Insistence He's Alive: Could You Be Next??

When it comes to Donald E. Miller Jr., it turns out that Mark Twain was right: the reports of his death have been greatly exaggerated.

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This week, an Ohio judge turned down Donald E. Miller Jr.’s request to be declared alive. Miller, according to the state of Ohio, is legally dead.

Miller was declared dead nearly 20 years ago after he disappeared. His ex-wife, Robin Miller, asked a judge for the declaration after Miller went missing so that her daughters could receive Social Security benefits. Miller, who owed tens of thousands of dollars in child support, and an admitted alcoholic, told the judge this week that he wasn't dead – he had merely drifted for a number of years.

What brought Miller, er, back from the dead? He wants a driver’s license and needs a valid Social Security number.

If the whole situation feels macabre, it is. It’s also not as unusual as you’d think to be declared dead: nearly 40 people per day are “accidentally” deemed dead by the feds each year. A federal database, nicknamed the “Death Master File” is filled with tens of thousands of Americans reported as dead – much to their surprise. The Death Master File was created in 1980 by the United States Social Security Administration and is better known as the Social Security Death Index (SSDI). The file has a disturbing amount of personally identifying information – including name, dates of birth and death and Social Security Number. And it’s all public information.

Of course, deceased folks don’t care so much if their information is made available – but the undead do. Individuals who have been incorrectly identified as dead worry about the consequences, including the potential for identity theft. Web sites such as “Cancel These Funerals” have been created to rally the undead to petition the government to have them declared alive. It sounds simple – but as in the case of Miller – it might not be.

Just ask Laura Todd, who is very much alive despite government records that years ago, said very differently. Todd was accidentally declared dead when someone in Florida died and her Social Security number was accidentally typed in. Todd, who struggled to be considered alive for eight years, consistently had her tax return rejected, telling NBC, “I will not be eligible for my refund. I’m not eligible for my rebate.”

Todd’s dilemma raises some interesting questions about the need to file a tax return. Clearly, dead men don’t pay taxes. But what about undead men – and women? If you’re alive – and you meet the filing criteria – you need to file. I thumbed through the Tax Code (yes, I have a pocket guide on my phone, don’t judge) earlier today and couldn't find an exception for filing when you’re not dead but the government thinks you’re dead. If a client asked me whether to file after being deemed dead, I would recommend (after checking his or her pulse) filing with the IRS to get the statute of limitations running. If, like Todd, the return is rejected, I’d save the proof of filing in the event that the IRS ever actually decided that the taxpayer was alive (this is much easier to do if you file by paper using certified mail, as an e-file rejection will, in most cases, simply kick back). You could also try filing in person, assuming you live near a tax assistance center and the government isn't shut down.

But if you’ve been declared dead while still alive, taxes may be the least of your worries. It’s impossible to get a loan or a mortgage – or government benefits like Social Security. Your bank account might be closed. You can’t get a driver’s license. It can be literally, a living nightmare.

If you’ve been declared dead – and clearly you’re not if you’re reading this article, you need to make an appointment at your local Social Security office (find yours here). Show up with lots of identification. You’ll want to bring a photo ID, your birth certificate and your amended death certificate (if one exists – that’s Miller’s big problem). Once Social Security has verified your ID (and the fact that you’re still breathing), the agency ought to be able to remedy the Social Security number problem.

You’ll still need to convince everyone else that you’re not dead. Writing letters – or better yet, showing up in person – to your bank and other institutions that wrote you off as deceased is a good start.

You’ll want to check your credit report, too, to make sure that you haven’t been the victim of identity theft in the meantime (yes, it’s sad that criminals can use your Social Security number to file for refunds, get loans and open accounts when you cannot but it happens).

Worried yet about whether you’re alive? Don’t be. You can check to see whether you’re dead here – or here.