NYS vital records and NYC consulate

[gvrcdk]

Hi Everybody,

I am in the process of collecting my documents, and need the death certificate of my great grandfather from the NYS Vital records department, which is proving difficult.

I have all of the information necessary to find the record, but they are refusing to release it in the absence of a letter from the Italian Consulate verifying that I need it. Apparently as a great granddaughter I am not automatically eligible for the document, and need to show that I need it to "claim a benefit". I already tried to send them copies from the consulate website showing that the document is needed. They will accept nothing less than a letter from the consulate.

I called the cosulate, and they say that it is no longer their policy to write such letters, as they had in the past. Does anyone have any suggestions about how to navegate this tug of war?

The state office also told me that an alternate way to get the document would be to get a court order. Does anyone have any idea how I would do that? Thank you for your ideas and experiences.

-Carolyn

[peggymckee]

This post might help. Good luck, Peggy M
http://www.icgsmb.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=2459

[hellosquire]

You might have to sue them via a court order. I did. I'll get back to you as soon as I get a chance.

[gvrcdk]

Thank you Peggy for the link. That was very informative.
...and thank you HelloSquire for your reply. I look forward to hearing from you again, and if you used a lawyer, please let me know who, and how it turned out. Thanks again.
-Carolyn

[hellosquire]

Hi,

I had to get a lawyer, if only because I didn't know how to legally initiate the process for pursuing a court order. I'll look over my paperwork to find out for you what you specifically have to do to get a court order. It starts with some sort of court index number to initiate a proceeding for the supreme court of NY to review your petition to obtain an order commanding the vital statistics bureau to hand over what you need. I didn't need to appear in court in person.

I'll look over my paperwork and pm you with the details. Any lawyer will be familiar with and should be able to initiate the proceedings which follow a common format for obtaining a court order. I think it's under a state code called "Article 78".

The legalese is confusing, the actual petition is not. Let me review my paperwork and I'll get back to you.

[gvrcdk]

Hi HelloSquire,
I'd really appreciate that. Thank you.
Carolyn

[sfmorbius]

Hi Hellosquire,

I'm in the same situation - need my deceased father's birth certificate, born in upstate NY, the NYS health dept. won't release the certificate. They told me I needed a consulate letter, so I wrote to the consulate but they replied 'we don't do that'. So, it looks like a court order is the only way.

It would be very helpful to receive (by PM or on this forum) the name of a NY attorney who has successfully done this - I am now in CA and don't know many NY attorneys.

Thanks!

[peggymckee]

Here is some information about Office of the Self-Represented. This is an office in Supreme Court in NY (which is where you would file Article 78 proceeding). Why not contact a few and see what they say?

I used the Office of the Self-Represented to help me get a Certificate of No Appeal (related to a divorce). But I don' think the office is limited to matrimonial matters.

http://www.nycourts.gov/courthelp/nolawyer-text.htm

And here's a link that mentions Article 78 and being self-represented together!
http://www.nycourts.gov/supctmanh/self-represented.htm

Good luck. Peggy M

[sfmorbius]

Hi Peggy,

Thanks for the helpful information. I am looking for the name of a NYS attorney, as I am a few thousand miles away from any of the self-help offices. Obviously an attorney who has already filed such petitions in the past would be best, which is why I asked Hellosquire who said that they successfully used an attorney.

I do think your information may help others who might live in NY.

-Bob

[Grigi]

Hello,

One of my grandfathers died in upstate NY and I got his death certificate from the town clerk. It cost 10 dollars and came in 2 days. Have you tried the town he was from instead of going for a court order? I guess this is kind of late, sorry, I just joined a couple of days ago.