Our bank has always required a Certified Copy of a Death Certificate upon the death of one of our customers; but we are questioning why we would need a Certified Copy and why we could not just make a photocopy of a Certified Copy.

Can anyone give me guidance on the proper handling in these situations?

Our bank uses the best of both. We need to see the original certified copy (raised seal, etc) and make a photocopy for the bank. However, we have a stamp that states that an original certified copy of the death certificate was presented and verified by a bank manager and (s)he made the copy for the bank's records from the original. The copy is stamped and signed by the manager who made the copy from the original.

Thanks, that is what our COO is proposing we do, but our Operations Supervisor is stating that in our state it is illegal to photocopy death certificates. Has anyone else run into this?

What state? Maybe you should post in the state specific forum an try to confirm or dispel the question of legality.

Al

It's in Oregon.

I doubt there is a law against copying death certs in Oregon. Their own dept. of vital statistics states on its web site: "Because any document that has been photocopied could be altered and then recopied to disguise the changes, a copy you make on plain paper will not be accepted by state and federal agencies as a legal document."
Copying does not appear to be illegal but state and federal agencies may not accept copies.
We take a copy of the certified copy since the certified ones are not cheap!

I know in Wyoming we have to have to certified state issued death cert. Otherwise the state auditors have a field day with us.

There may be some "lore" carefully handed down from generation to generation in all of this. Broadening Al's suggestion, if your state has specific documentary requirements you must meet before you pay funds to surviving beneficiaries I suggest you find them in writing somewhere before you attempt to adhere to them. I've done state specific deposit administration programs in more than 10 states and not one of them had any statutory mandate as to what was acceptable documentation of death. What was acceptable was always determined by the institution that would actually be liable for distributing any funds in error. That makes sense.

Generally, it's like most things in banking, a risk based decision. In some community banks, no documentary proof of death is required. They take the fact that they saw the individual being loaded into the hearse as adequate proof. In others, the requirements range from a copy of the obituary, a copy of the death certificate, or a copy of the funeral directors' application for a death certificate. Obviously, some do require a certified copy of a death certificate, but that may be a bit of "overkill." As noted, a certified copy may be expensive and may take weeks to obtain.

At a previous employer a woman had her husband removed from their HELOC after show sent in a copy of his death certificate. Lo and behold 2 years later he called in for a payoff. She had forged his death certificate (used her father's and changed the names).

I'm not sure about the NJ law, but at our bank we require an original Death Certificate. Most people are prepared for that, though, and get a good amount of them right away.

It seems that the suggestions from Southern Banker and SJB above have merit.