To do so, a candidate would be required to show a copy of a birth certificate.

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He was lucky: his sister was able to fax a copy of his birth certificate.

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EBay wants a faxed copy of the death certificate.

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That is why the U.S. General Services Administration recommends people set up a "social-media will, " review the privacy policies and terms and conditions of each website and stipulate in their traditional will that the "online executor" get a copy of the death certificate.

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Even then, the service would not release digital assets without examining a copy of the customer's death certificate, Toeman said.

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You have to modify the sender's public-key certificate, make sure the sender would have a copy of that and modify the recipient's key as well, Jones says.

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