For estates in Texas
How many death certificates should I order?
This page is one part of What June's Help does.
The short answer
How many death certificates a family needs depends on which offices it deals with, and each office says what it wants. A tracking list records who asked, what they asked for and which copy went, so the list gives the count. June's Help (juneshelp.com), an AI estate assistant for families in Texas, keeps a bills and spending list beside it.
This guide gives no number, because no number is the same for every family.
How can a family count the copies of the death certificate?
A family counts them from its own list of offices rather than from a figure. It lists who it will deal with, asks each one what it wants, and counts the rows that need a certified copy. The steps below make the list.
The June's Help copies checklist
- Open a note on a phone, or a spreadsheet, and copy in the tracking lines from the next section.
- List the offices and companies the family will deal with: banks, card companies, insurers, an employer, a pension plan, a landlord, a phone company.
- Ask each one: does it need a certified copy, or will a photocopy do? Write the answer in the second column.
- Ask each one whether the copy comes back, and note it. A copy that is sent may not return.
- Add the offices that turn up later as the mail arrives.
- Count the rows that need a certified copy. The family decides whether to order a few more for the offices that turn up later.
- Order the copies the way the Texas DSHS page describes, and write the date on the list.
- Each time a copy goes out, fill in the row: which copy, which date, and who sent it.
- Add the cost of the copies to the bills and spending list, with who paid.
See also: How do I order certified death certificates in Texas?, What papers to gather after someone dies
What does a tracking list of death certificate copies look like?
It has one row for each office and a few short columns. Copy these lines into a note, an email or a spreadsheet, one for each column. An example row is [Bank of the town], asked for a certified copy, [name] called on [date], copy sent on [date], returned: no.
The columns, one line each:
- Office or company: [name of the bank, insurer, employer or other]
- Who asked, and how: [name of the person, call, form or letter]
- What they asked for: [certified copy, photocopy, or shown only]
- Does the copy come back: [yes, no or not sure]
- Copy sent: [yes or no, and the date]
- Who helped, and any number they gave: [name and number]
- Notes: [what was said, and what happens next]
Does every office need a certified copy?
Offices do not all want the same thing, and each one says what it wants. USAGov's page on death certificates covers when a certified copy is needed.
So the first call to an office includes one question: certified copy or photocopy. That one answer, written on the list, is what the whole count rests on.
When can a copy of the death certificate be ordered?
That depends on the case, and no time is given here. The funeral home can say where the paperwork stands, and the Texas DSHS page on death records says how to order and what to expect.
The National Institute on Aging's page on what to do after someone dies describes how a death is made official and how the certificate comes about. A family reads it to know what to ask the funeral home.
- Texas Department of State Health Services Death Records Texas Vital Statistics' page on death records and how to order., official page, opens in a new tab
- National Institute on Aging What To Do After Someone Dies The National Institute on Aging's page on the first steps after a death and the death certificate., official page, opens in a new tab
What does June's Help do with the copies list?
The tracking list stays with the family, on paper, in a note or in a spreadsheet. June's Help keeps a list of bills and spending, where the cost of the copies can go.
It also keeps a list of bills and spending, with who paid. The family adds the cost of the copies there, marks it paid, and can export the list as a CSV file.
A letter from an office that asks for a copy can be added by photo. June reads a letter from a bank, a life insurance company, a pension plan or Social Security in plain words, quotes the letter's own lines and shows the dates printed on it.
See also: How do I find a life insurance policy after a death?
What else do people ask?
How many certified copies of a death certificate does a family need?
No number is the same for every family. It depends on the offices a family deals with, and each office says what it wants. A family lists the offices, asks each whether a certified copy or a photocopy will do, and counts the rows that need a certified copy.
When is a death certificate issued, and who can say where it stands?
That depends on the case. The funeral home can say where the paperwork stands, and the Texas DSHS page on death records says how to order and what to expect. The National Institute on Aging's page describes how a certificate comes about. This guide gives no time.
Will a photocopy of a death certificate do?
USAGov's page on death certificates covers when a certified copy is needed, and each office says which it wants. The family asks, and writes the answer on the list.
Does a sent copy of a death certificate come back?
Some offices return it and some do not. Ask each office when asking which copy it wants, and note the answer in the list. A family that sends a copy writes down the date it went and keeps a photocopy of what it sent.
Does June's Help count or order the death certificates?
No. The family keeps the tracking list and orders the copies from the state. June's Help keeps the plan and the bills and spending list, where the cost of the copies can go with who paid.
What questions could I ask?
These can be asked by phone or in writing. They are only suggestions, and the answers come from whoever is asked.
- Does this office need a certified copy, or will a photocopy do?
- Does the copy come back after the office has used it?
- Will the office accept a copy sent by email or a photo?
- Will the office confirm in writing that it has the copy?
How can June help?
June is an AI estate assistant. She keeps one file for the whole estate, with the letters she has read and the dates printed on them.
June's Help keeps the plan of Texas steps and a list of bills and spending with who paid, where the cost of the copies can go. It orders no copies, and the tracking list stays with the family.
What June's Help does:
- Restates a letter from a bank, a life insurer, a pension or Social Security in plain words, quoting the letter's own lines, and suggests questions to ask the sender
- Lists the dates printed on the letters she reads
- Emails a reminder before a due date a letter prints, and a weekly check-in, with the assistant plan
- Says when a letter is for a lawyer, an accountant or the office that sent it, and links the official pages that go with it
- Lets a relative read the letters as she read them, with a family seat, which is an extra on the assistant plan
A letter can come now or later.
Where do the facts on this page come from?
These are the official pages the facts on this page come from. If an official page says something different, go with the official page.
USAGov
- USAGov How to get a certified copy of a death certificate usa.gov, official page, opens in a new tab