Presumption of death

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Presumption of death" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

A presumption of death occurs when an individual is believed to be dead, despite the absence of direct proof of the person's death, such as the finding of remains (e.g., a corpse or skeleton) attributable to that person. Such a presumption is typically made by an individual when a person has been missing for an extended period and in the absence of any evidence that person is still alive—or after a shorter period, but where the circumstances surrounding a person's disappearance overwhelmingly support the belief that the person is dead (e.g., an airplane crash). The presumption becomes certainty if the person has not been located for a period of time that has exceeded their probable life span, such as in the case of Amelia Earhart or Jack the Ripper.

A declaration that a person is dead resembles other forms of "preventive adjudication", such as the declaratory judgment.^[1] Different jurisdictions have different legal standards for obtaining such declaration and in some jurisdictions a presumption of death may arise after a person has been missing under certain circumstances and a certain amount of time.