Death Certificates

The first question is probably what is a death certificate? Why is it necessary?

A Death Certificate is an official statement, signed by a physician or coroner, of the cause, date, and place of a person's death and the verification of the person's identity. 

It is a legal document, like a birth certificate, a driver's license, or marriage license.  It usually falls under the jurisdiction of local government and will be recorded by the city or town. 

Procedures for obtaining death certificates may varies. In some states the records are in the public domain - accessible by anyone - and in other states, a relative would have to request the documents. 

The funeral home, on behalf of the family, usually takes care of ordering original death certificates for you. They will ask how many you will need, and charge you a nominal fee, which will be included in the funeral costs. 

Err on the side of too many, rather than having to go back to the county clerk to obtain more, especially if the deceased died out of state. We suggest at least a dozen.

You may be asked for proof of death for numerous reasons - anything from turning off the electricity to gaining access to financial information. Often the equest is for an original death certificate and a photocopy will not be acceted. Having extra originals is always a good idea!

You need multiple Death Certificates to settle the formalities of an estate of someone who has died. You will almost always wish you had ordered several more at the start of the process.

I asked for 12 original death certificates - which the funeral director thought was excessive. However, I found that many of the organizations I needed to contact about my friend's death wanted an original certificate, not a photocopy. 

Institutions that will require original death certificates included:

• Financial institutions
• Retirement fund organizations
• Microsoft (I needed them to remove the password on her laptop)
• Internal Revenue Service
• The courts for the will and probate, as well as the appointment of the Executor/Executrix