To do your job as executor or administrator of an estate, you'll need certified copies of the death certificate.

If you are wrapping up the affairs of someone who has died, you will probably have a wide variety of responsibilities, from figuring out who inherits property to paying debts. You'll also have to handle some mundane tasks: terminating leases and credit cards, notifying banks, the post office, Social Security, and so forth.

During this process, you're bound to need some certified copies -- probably at least ten -- of the death certificate. For example, to collect insurance proceeds and other death benefits, you will be required to give a copy of the death certificate to the insurance company or other agency.

Fortunately, it's easy to obtain these documents. The quickest way is to ask the mortuary you deal with to obtain them for you and add the cost to its bill. Otherwise, there are a couple of ways to get them yourself.

By mail. If you need copies of the death certificate immediately after the death, you can order them by writing to the vital statistics office or county health department in the county where the decedent died. Call the office first to find out where to send your request and how much money to enclose. If several weeks have passed since the death, you can also obtain copies by writing to your state's vital statistics office. To find out where to write in your state, and how much the copies cost ($4-$15 each, depending on the state), go to the website of the National Center for Health Statistics at: http://http://www.cdc.gov/nchswww/howto/w2w/w2welcom.htm.

Online. In more and more places, you can order death certificates through county or state websites. Check the website of the county where the person died; you may find a request form you can fill out online.