Who can get a Death Cert?

jay70

My father recently past away.
as you can imagine all kinds of family members are now coming out of the wood works, people we have not hear or see in years.
I am wondering can anyone get hold of a Certificate of Death?
i have been told that once someone get hold of this they make certain claims.
i have already register his death and given my details.

I will call the registry office in the morning - just looking for peace of mind..

Dox

jay70 said:

My father recently past away.
as you can imagine all kinds of family members are now coming out of the wood works, people we have not hear or see in years.
I am wondering can anyone get hold of a Certificate of Death?
i have been told that once someone get hold of this they make certain claims.
i have already register his death and given my details.

I will call the registry office in the morning - just looking for peace of mind..

'You have been told...'. Those wonderfully unhelpful words! By whom? What did they say, exactly? The fact that family members wish to pay their respects (and I trust that's why they are getting in touch) really shouldn't lead you to conclude they have criminal activities on their minds.

The reality is that at present it's quite hard for the person who registered the death to get a copy of the death certificate, never mind more than one copy. 

jay70

Hi Dox, thanks for the response...
without going into personal family matters.  certain family members you know are not here to pay respect, but see an opportunity for making a quick funds.

this is my first experience of a death and detailing with the admin behind it - so not really sure how its open to abuse or advantage being taken of.

xylophone

A death certificate is a public document (like a marriage or birth certificate) and anybody can get a copy.
https://www.gov.uk/order-copy-birth-death-marriage-certificate
That said, at the moment, this is likely to be difficult.

jay70

Xylophone: Thats what i was thinking, (from what i seem in detective movies,lol)

out of interest, do you know will it be an original copy or a copy?

personally i do not know how someones, Death Cert could be open to abuse or fraud, as someone would need more information, like bank details...so confused..!

Mojisola

jay70 said:

out of interest, do you know will it be an original copy or a copy?

All certificates are copies of the entry in the register.  If you buy one, it will just as valid as the original given to the informant at the time of registering the death.

Flugelhorn

they can by a certified copy for about £11 - presuming that you are named as executor in a will then if you are concerned about particular financial institution then it would be sensible to speak to them to give your details etc and ensure that they do not deal with anyone else