While it sounds morbid, there are times when you will need to get the death record of someone. In most states, if someone dies and a physician is not present, a coroner must sign the death record, even if no foul play is suspected. If a physician is there, the death record is signed by the doctor. Death records are usually filed with a state or county health department.

Why would someone need a copy of a death record?

• To probate the deceased person’s will. You would think that no one would lie about a loved one’s death, but it happens. In the aftermath of 911, many people claimed their loved ones died to collect survivor’s benefits. The actual death certificate is needed for the probate judge.
  
  
• To collect life insurance benefits. Again, this prevents fraud. Some of the biggest insurance scams come from people who fake their deaths so that their families can collect life insurance. Insurance companies require a sealed copy of the death record before benefits can be paid.
  
  
• To stop Social Security payments. Another fraud is when survivors continue to collect a loved one’s Social Security benefits even if the person had died. In most cases, these people were taking care of their loved ones before they died and using the money for themselves. When agents find a death record, they arrest the survivors for fraud and immediately stop the benefits.
  
  
• So that surviving children can collect Social Security benefits. When a child’s parent dies, the child collects support benefits from the government. Before these benefits can begin, the Social Security office will need a copy of the death record.
  
  
• So a family can collect benefits because the loved one was in the military. The military has a special set of benefits that can be collected if a member of the military is killed in the line of duty.

If you need a death record, how do you find it? Not everyone has an attorney or a close family friend that can guide them through difficult times. How can you make sure that the death record is filed? You can spend a lot of time searching from agency to agency, or you can use an online search company to help you find death records. These companies are very beneficial if you loved one died tragically in another county or state and the death record is filed there. Online record search companies keep records from courthouses and agencies all over the country.

One of the benefits of using an online record search company is the price. For less than $10, you can search public records. If you need to research multiple death records, you often can spend less than $100. This is much more economical than spending your time calling or driving from courthouse to courthouse, often in different towns. An online record search company will have death records in one convenient location that you can access from the comfort of your own home.