Life Ins Beneficiary needs death cert.

[bobo8988]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA

My friend is the beneficiary of a life insurance policy and needs a certified copy of the death certificate to claim the proceeds. However, she is not a relative of the deceased, and neither the family nor the mortuary will cooperate with her. How can she get a death certificate?

 

[BlondiePB]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA

My friend is the beneficiary of a life insurance policy and needs a certified copy of the death certificate to claim the proceeds. However, she is not a relative of the deceased, and neither the family nor the mortuary will cooperate with her. How can she get a death certificate?

She can obtain one at CA's State Office of Vital Statistics.

 

[Dandy Don]

Is it the life insurance company that is asking her to provide the death certificate? She needs to find the website for the California Department of Health/Vital Statistics where she can find information on how to order and a form--and it would be advisable for her to order it from the COUNTY RECORDER'S OFFICE for whatever county the death occurred in so that she can receive it sooner (probably about 4 weeks or less), because if she orders it from the Sacramento office it will take as long as 12 weeks or longer to arrive in the mail, unless she wants to pay an additional fee for rush service/expedited service.

 

[bobo8988]

California Vital Records and the County Recorder will not provide the Death Cert because she is not one of the following:

The registrant or parent or legal guardian of the registrant
A party entitled to receive the record as a result of a court order, or an attorney or a licensed adoption agency seeking the birth record in order to comply with the requirements of Section 3140 or 7603 of the Family Code
A member of a law enforcement agency or a representative of another governmental agency, as provided by law, who is conducting official business
A child, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, or domestic partner of the registrant
An attorney representing the registrant or the registrant’s estate, or any person or agency empowered by statute or appointed by a court to act on behalf of the registrant or the registrant estate
Any funeral director that orders certified copies of a death certificate on behalf of any individual specified in paragraphs (1) to (5) inclusive of subdivision (a) of Section 7100 of the Health and Safety Code

 

[ErinGoBragh]

Then beneficiary can attempt to get a court order.

 

[Dandy Don]

According to information posted on the California Department of Health/Vital Statistics website, an applicant does not have to meet the requirements you mention in order to get an INFORMATIONAL death certificate. It is the same as ordering an authorized death certificate and is also certified. They even provide a form for ordering an informational certificate. Anyone can order an informational certificate. Did she try ordering it by mail or did she just phone in a request to their office?

 

[bobo8988]

The Informational Cert does not contain the cause of death and certain other information that is considered private. The insurance wants to know the cause of death to make sure it was not an excludable cause.

 

[Dandy Don]

You can get the court order by going through the Family Law Court or maybe even probate court--I'm not sure how things work in your county. Perhaps the assistance of an attorney may be needed; should be fairly inexpensive. You may want to check with the family court first before hiring attorney--maybe they have a simple form on file for requesting a court order for a death certificate.