Who can sign a Death Certificate Verification Form?

Trusts Discussion
#1

Does anyone know if a Death Certificate Verification Form can be signed by any qualified solicitor or if they have to be signed by a specific person with suitable seniority? A colleague of mine has pointed me to a protocol agreed between The Law Society, STEP and the British Bankers Assoc. which indicates that it will only be accepted if it has been signed by a partner of a law firm. Does this accord with other forum members’ understanding? I was under the impression that a non-partner could sign them.

This is, of course, a separate issue to whether or not the bank etc. will readily accept them in instances where you do not have enough copies of the Death Certificate, instead preferring that you send them a certified copy of the Death Certificate (which is protected by Crown copyright!)

#2

We haven’t used Death Certificate Verification Forms for years; I did not think they were still valid! In the days when we did, they had to be signed by a partner. We use certified copy death certificates from the Registrar at £11 each and if there are many organisations needing them, wait for their return before sending out the next batch.

#3

We still use them with good success and I sign as a solicitor with my own name. If not sufficient I’m sure they will ask for extra.

#4

We have the same experience. 90% + of financial institutions seem to accept DCVF. Partners sign the DCVF at our firm.