Presumption of Death Act 2013
The Presumption of Death Act 2013 is a law of the British Parliament that regulates the declaration of death of missing persons in England and Wales .
background
Even before the law was passed, one person could be pronounced dead in England and Wales. This declaration of death had an impact primarily on the marital status . However, this declaration of death did not apply to certain legal transactions, as no death certificate was issued. The best known case affected by this ruling was Richard Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan , who has been missing since 1974. A death certificate was issued in 1999, but since there was no death certificate, his son George Bingham could not inherit his title and thus take over the seat in the House of Lords . The law unifies the legal situation in England and Wales with that of Scotland and Northern Ireland .
Regulations
The law states that anyone can petition the High Court to have a missing person pronounced dead. The court can then issue a declaration of death if it is convinced that the person is dead or that they have not been seen alive for at least seven years. The court sets a time of death. If the court cannot give an exact time of death, then the time of death is set at the end of the period that the court can relate to the last known living appearance of the person or the application. The court's finding is recorded in a special register for these deaths. A death certificate can then be issued.
literature
- Ministry of Justice: Presumption of death act 2013. Stationery Office, London 2013, ISBN 978-0-10-541313-4 .
- Ministry of Justice: Presumption of Death Act 2013. Chapter 13. Explanatory notes. TSO, Norwich 2013, ISBN 978-0-10-561313-8 .
- Ministry of Justice: Presumption of death act 2013 (commencement and transitional and saving provision) order 2014. TSO, Norwich 2014, ISBN 978-0-11-111782-8 .
- Clare Archer: MISSING PERSONS Clare Archer lauds the Presumption of Death Act. In: Private Client Adviser. Volume 19, No. 1 September 12, 2013, Disappearing act .
