A death certificate is an official document, often referred to as a vital record, that states the details of a certain person’s death. It usually contains the deceased’s identifying details, the cause of death, and the location of death.
In the State of California, death certificates are issued by the county officials where the deceased person passed. The California Secretary of State apostilles death certificates for use in foreign countries, giving your US-issued death certificate the legal certification required by many foreign countries.
Presenting a US-issued death certificate abroad
An apostille death certificate in California will be recognized in foreign countries, given it’s sealed and stamped. These certificates are often needed for several reasons:
- Remarrying – When a widow or widower wishes to remarry in a foreign country, an apostilled death certificate will be one of the required documents to be submitted.
- Obtaining pension benefits – This meets local and international requirements, and a death certificate is the necessary document for such claims.
- Claiming life insurance – If you’re a surviving family member or beneficiary of foreign life insurance, the insured’s death certificate is required.
- Settling estates – To legally manage and be able to distribute estates of the deceased in a foreign country. Financial institutions like banks, courts, and other entities will require an apostilled death certificate to release funds, transfer properties, and settle any debts.
- Transporting bodies – To make arrangements for the burial or cremation of the remains of the deceased in a foreign country.
How Do I Get an Apostille in California?
Firstly, you must check if the location of death is within the state of California. If the person died in another state, you will have to get the death certificate there. County or State Officials will issue the death certificate.
There are two types of death certificates, and it’s important to know the difference between them since they serve different purposes.
Unrestricted and Informational Death Certificates
Only unrestricted county-certified death certificates can be issued an apostille. California law defines certain individuals who can obtain the unrestricted death certificate of a deceased person. It can be a parent, legal guardian, child, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, or domestic partner of the deceased.
The California Secretary of State does not issue apostilles for informational death certificates although considered a certified copy, it will have a legend across the face of the document with the statement, “Informational, Not a Valid Document to Establish Identity.”
Requirements for an Apostille
You must have the original or certified copy of the death certificate before anything else. You may request it via the Vital Records Department of the state where the deceased passed away.
Next would be contacting the Secretary of State to obtain an apostille for it. If you find these requirements challenging, Rush In Documentation Center’s apostille services in Los Angeles are available to help you.
Steps in Obtaining an Apostille
The steps in obtaining an apostille death certificate are quite straightforward. It only takes 3 major steps. Although it can be a hassle and time-consuming when you need to personally get the documents while you’re still grieving, you may opt to get the service outsourced by a trusted provider instead.
Here’s what you need to do:
- Secure an official, unrestricted copy of the individual’s death certificate.
- Get in touch with the office of the Secretary of State and pass the county-issued certificate.
- Wait for your apostille. Before issuance, the office of the Secretary of State will verify the validity of your certificate.
Getting Help for Apostille Death Certificate
Loss in a family can be devastating and the last you want to do when you’re feeling grief and sadness will be processing papers.
Grieving families might not have the time and effort to process these requirements for the time being, given the loss they’re currently experiencing. Thus, getting professional help will be the best option.
There are several companies that offer apostille services like Rush In Documentation Center.
Rush in Documentation Center provides you a full-packaged Apostille Document Legalization Services throughout the US and across different embassies. They have been a recommended service provider since 1994 and only licensed, bonded, and insured specialists handle cases. They assure you of 3 main things — speed, quality, and reasonable prices.
For countries that have signed the Hague Convention, an apostille is enough to present. However, countries who are not members of this convention will need a few more steps in document legalization and a consular visit will be necessary to validate the document.
Having said that, you might also need document translation services in Los Angeles to process further requirements in the non-Hague countries we mentioned earlier.
Would you be willing to tend to these extra steps or would you consider outsourcing the service to professionals? Knowing there’s a rush service available for you in California, with just up to 5 hours of waiting, you can have your documents apostilled in express.
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