106 West Main Street
P.O. Box 146
NEGAUNEE, MI 49866
Phone: 906-475-4631
Fax: 906-475-5561

Immediate Need

If you have immediate need of our services, we're available for you 24 hours a day.

Obituaries & Tributes

It is not always possible to pay respects in person, so we hope that this small token will help.

Pre-Arrangement

A gift to your family, sparing them hard decisions at an emotional time.

Order Flowers

Offer a gift of comfort and beauty to a family suffering from loss.

Death Certificates

It's a simple fact: when families turn to us to care for a loved one who has died, very few of them realize the critical importance of the death certificate. In short, if you are the person acting on your loved one's behalf in order to close accounts and notify creditors or government agencies; you will need certified copies of their death certificate–and probably you'll need more copies than you'd imagine.  Certified copies are those which have been endorsed (or certified ) that it is a true copy of the original document.

In the coming weeks, you'll quickly discover death certificates are the single most important documents you’ll need in the coming weeks.Here are the reasons why:

The Legal Reasons:Your loved one's death certificate is the permanent legal record of the fact of death. This document provides important information about the decedent; such as the date, time and cause of death, and the means of final disposition.  

A certified copy of their death certificate will be used in all applications for insurance benefits, the settlement of pension claims, and the transfer of title of real and personal property.  The certificate is prima facie evidence of the fact of death and, therefore, can be introduced in court as evidence when a question about the death arises.

The Personal Reasons:In many cases, the death certificate–which provides documentation of the cause of death– can give family members a sense of closure and greater peace-of-mind. It also settles financial anxieties by facilitating the efficient processing of needed benefits as those described above.

Vital Statistics Reasons:When filed with the state, your loved one's death certificate will become a source used in the compilation of state and national mortality statistics.  It is also necessary for a variety of medical and health-related research efforts, and will be used to assist in the determination of research and development funding, to set public health goals and policies, and to measure health status at local, state, national, and international levels. This data is valuable as a research tool and heavily influences research funding.

The Need for Death Certificates in Estate Settlement

The death of a beloved family member can not only bring heartache; it can bring a lot of bureaucratic headaches for those left to deal with settling the estate. The truth of it is that before any the business and legal issues of the estate can be pursued, it is necessary for you to obtain certified copies of the death certificate. Here's what you need to know: it's important to have enough copies–certified copies, not photocopies–of their death certificate. You can order them from:

  1. The funeral director handling your loved one's funeral arrangements
  2. The Registrar of Vital Statistics in your area

When you call to place an order for certified death certificates, you may be reminded that is always better to order more than what you think you will need. (This is because most agencies will only accept certified death certificates, not photocopies.)

If you are involved in transferring the title on a house, mobile home, boat or automobile–or involved in any courtroom litigation regarding your loved one's estate; there may be a need for you to obtain a certified copy of the death certificate which does not state the cause of death. You should make this special request when ordering certified copies of your loved one's death certificate.

If you have questions about obtaining copies of a death certificate, please contact us. We’re here to assist you.