NEWS / Oklahoma man experiences long wait for wife’s death certificate

An Oklahoma man has been waiting for over a month for his wife’s death certificate. The problem is that he is unable to initiate probate to obtain control over her bank accounts, investments, and insurance.

“Yeah without the death certificate, I'm tied up in everything,” 93-year-old widower Kermit Brooks was quoted by KJRH 2 News Oklahoma as saying. His wife Mary, with whom he had been married for 26 years, passed away May 9.

The News resource also cites Steve Mowery, owner of Mowery Funeral Service, stating that a wait of over a month is quite rare. The issue appears to have been caused by a state-level update to the vital record distribution system.

"These families between April and May that have gotten caught up in that transition, it's just taking longer for the state to issue those death certificates for those families,” Mowery stated.

Mowery also noted that the setback is likely temporary and that once doctors adopt the new process, the standard processing time of about 7 to 10 days should come back.

If you need assistance with retrieving certified copies of death certificates and getting them apostilled or authenticated, feel free to contact us by calling (212) 233-7061 or emailing info@apostille.us. You can also apply on our website.