Obtaining a state-style death certificate in court

A death certificate is a document that is the basis for the emergence of certain civil rights, for example, the right to inheritance, receiving an unearned pension of a pensioner and burial benefits.

As a rule, the state registration of death is carried out by the departments of the state registration of civil status acts on the day of the applicant's application at the last place of residence of the deceased. However, there are cases when a court decision confirming the fact of death must be obtained for state registration of death.

Thus, Mr. Oleksandr*, a resident of Donetsk region, turned to the lawyer of the Kovel Legal Aid Bureau, a DRC partner, with a request to help him obtain a state-style death certificate for his mother. The situation required an immediate response, as the man was in the Volyn region for only a few days, after which he returned home.

Of his mother's documents, Oleksandr had only copies of a medical certificate of death and a copy of a death certificate issued in territories not under the control of the Ukrainian government. Thus, in order to obtain the necessary state documents, it was necessary to go to court to establish the fact of the death of the husband's mother.

The lawyers of the Kovel Legal Aid Bureau helped to prepare and submit a statement to the court, and within the deadline set by law, Oleksandr received a state-style death certificate for his mother, according to the decision of the Kovel City District Court.

Free legal aid for displaced persons in the Volyn region was made possible thanks to the cooperation of the Western Regional Center for the provision of free secondary legal aid with the Danish Refugee Council and funding within the framework of civil protection and humanitarian aid of the European Union.

*Name has been changed

History: Anna Kapitan, chief lawyer of the "Kovel Legal Aid Bureau" sector, Kovel city