Florida woman was marked 'dead' instead of her husband. 2 years later, she can't withdraw her money, pay tax or even vote

85-year-old Priscilla Slack has to prove that she is not dead once again. Ever since her husband passed away two years ago, her identity has been pushed into the shadows. Her name was mistakenly registered in the deceased's name instead of her husband's. Published in an report by WFLA on August 31, 2026, Slack’s story is making people question whether they are really in responsible hands. If not for this one tiny error, she wouldn’t have to struggle to file taxes or to go to a bank and withdraw her own money.

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Tiny error costing the elderly

What started as a minor error in her name soon went beyond Social Security and started interfering with her accounts. “First they canceled my bank account, and they canceled my credit card. When I went to vote, I was still canceled,” Slack, a resident of Wesley Chapel, told the outlet. At first, she took it lightly. “I kept my sense of humor about it early on, because we can all make mistakes and push the wrong button,” she said.

Grueling paper chase

However, the error quickly cascaded to several government and federal agencies that froze her accounts one after the other. Most recently, the IRS sent her a letter claiming that she had filed taxes with a Social Security number associated with the name of a deceased person. From then on, she’s hopping back and forth between the Social Security Administration and the IRS, not getting any answer. Exhausted by the rigmarole, she encouraged agencies to take responsibility and fix the problem. “How am I supposed to deal with these agencies who can’t deal with each other?” Slack said.

What is the proof of being alive?

According to data, more than three million deaths are reported to the Social Security Administration each year. Out of them, less than one-third of 1% are erroneously reported under the wrong names. Still, the margin means thousands of people (9,000 to 12,000) are mistakenly declared dead each year. Slack made the right decision by involving the media to get her problem out and force the government agencies to solve it, but most people are left jostling with the procedures to prove that they’re alive. Every day, names of nearly 30 people are added to the death rolls by mistake.

'Stop paying taxes. They'll find you.'

Viewers expressed frustration and concern over Slack’s problem. @tjtampa214 commented, “Social Security, IRS, and Medicare should be talking to each other, and they have not, I guess, since their inception. That needs to be fixed; this is atrocious.” @ladysingsthebooze said, “She probably should stop paying her taxes. The government always seems to find everyone who skips.”

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