If you live in Texas and receive a pension from Ecuador's social security institute, the IESS, you must periodically certify that you are still alive so the pension is not suspended. And if an Ecuadorian relative has passed away and you are entitled to a survivor's benefit, you may need to send a US death certificate to Ecuador in a form the IESS will accept. In both situations, a Texas document usually has to be apostilled before it carries legal weight in Ecuador.