Tinkerbel1
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As I used to know it, there is a big difference between a Certificate of Death and a Death Certificate. An attending physician is usually the person who completes and signs the Certificate of Death, which states the deceased person's name, age, gender, etc., and details leading up to and the time and cause of actual death. These are a lengthy single sheet (without a duplicate copy) and accompany the body to the funeral home. These sheets are numbered/coded. Photocopies are made for the records of whomever completed it. A Death Certificate is issued from the Funeral Home and there can be multiple identical numbered copies (for a cost) in order to settle the deceased person's affairs. Every bank or office seems to request an original in the settling of an Estate. If you do not have multiple copies of a Death Certificate, a Notary Public will make a notarized copy an original one. Not sure how easy or difficult it would be to fake either one.
Thank you for the clarification between the 2 documents, I believe you are right now that I think back to my father's affairs when he passed. The fake one? It would be pretty difficult to get a fake passport and birth certificate, but someone knows how to do it I'm sure. Either way, it appears that no statement has come from the ME on the Certificate of Death. I'm wondering if that is a public document or not?