Waiting on NC death certificates, families forced to put their lives on hold

Death certificates are crucial to the living, experts say.

But in North Carolina, family members often can’t get those documents for many months — and sometimes more than a year — because of delays in the completion of state autopsy reports.

Without death certificates, survivors can’t access insurance and other assets they are due to inherit. That can put some at risk of losing homes to foreclosure, said T.J. Caune, a Charlotte lawyer who handles probate and estate matters.

“If they don’t have income and you don’t have access to the bank account and the money from an insurance policy, they could essentially be locked out of all their money for a year,” Caune said. “They could end up homeless in that scenario.”

Death certificates, which usually arrive after medical examiner investigations are finished, are crucial for myriad other reasons, Caune and other experts say. Surviving family members usually need them to:

▪ Transfer property, such as automobiles and houses, to surviving family members.

▪ Sell a house that they are due to inherit.

▪ Collect survivor benefits from a pension or from social security.

▪ Get permission from a cell phone manufacturer to access photos, videos and all other information stored in the deceased person’s smartphone.

▪ File a wrongful death lawsuit.

Larry Price’s disabled 39-year-old daughter, Jessica, died more than 15 months ago, but he’s still waiting for the medical examiner’s investigation to be completed.

Why Jessica died remains a mystery. According to a 911 call, she was pulled from a bathtub at an East Raleigh townhome owned by her brother, The News & Observer reported.

Price needs Jessica’s death certificate for reasons beyond collecting life insurance. He’s considering filing a wrongful death lawsuit in her case, but needs a death certificate to start the process, he said.

But the clock is ticking. In most cases, the statute of limitations for filing a wrongful death lawsuit in North Carolina is two years from the date of death.

And he wants basic answers.

“I’m left in the dark,” Price said.

This story was originally published June 1, 2023 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Waiting on NC death certificates, families forced to put their lives on hold."

Ames Alexander

The Charlotte Observer

Ames Alexander was an Observer investigative reporter for more than 31 years, examining corruption in state prisons, the mistreatment of injured poultry workers and many other subjects. His journalism won dozens of state and national awards. He was a key member of two reporting teams that were named Pulitzer finalists.  Support my work with a digital subscription