Source: https://www.sweeneyprobatelaw.com/Articles/CALIFORNIA-MISSING-PERSON-PRESUMPTION-OF-DEATH-COURT-DECLARATION-OF-DEATH-AND-CALIFORNIA-PROBATE-OF-ESTATE-OF-MISSING-PERSON.shtml
Timestamp: 2019-05-23 10:39:25
Document Index: 173792895

Matched Legal Cases: ['§12404', '§1844', '§3700', '§551', '§5561', '§551', '§5561', '§1403', '§3700', '§1283', '§3700', '§401']

Also, sometimes people are lost in mass disasters. Building collapses, landslides, tsunamis, or similar mass disasters often cause victims' bodies to be buried by debris and not recovered. The 9/11 attack resulted in mass casualties and many were never recovered from the ruins. In the decade that followed 9/11, victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 were not recovered.
PROBATE CALIFORNIA PERSON'S ESTATE MISSING 5 YEARS
Under the laws of California, if a person has been missing for five years or longer, his or her spouse, certain family members, and creditors can file a petition with the court requesting that the person be "presumed dead." If the person is found to be presumed dead, a probate administration can occur.
"In proceedings under this part, a person who has not been seen or heard from for a continuous period of five years by those who are likely to have seen or heard from that person, and whose absence is not satisfactorily explained after diligent search or inquiry, is presumed to be dead. The person's death is presumed to have occurred at the end of the period unless there is sufficient evidence to establish that death occurred earlier."
That the absentee's body could not be recovered due to the nature of the catastrophic event; and
In addition to the matters otherwise required in the petition for probate, the petition must state the missing person's last-known place of residence; the time and circumstances of the disappearance; that the missing person has not been heard from by the persons most likely to hear (naming them and their relationship to the missing person) for a period of 5 years (or shorter period where applicable); that the whereabouts of the missing person are unknown to those persons and to the petitioner; and a description of any search or inquiry made concerning the missing person's whereabouts. (See California Probate Code §12404(c)).
CALIFORNIA COURT'S FINDING OF DEATH OF MISSING PERSON
Determine the date of the missing person's death; and
Appoint an executor or administrator to administer the estate in the same general manner and method of a proceeding as provided for administration of a decedent's estate.
What may a family do to preserve the estate during the time a person's whereabouts are unknown. Conservatorships of the estate of absentees and missing persons can be established under California Probate Code §§1844-1849.5. The proceeding is limited to a conservatorship of the estate only.
The time and circumstance of the person's disappearance.
California Probate Code §§3700-3722 provide for a set-aside procedure of estates of military or federal government personnel who are in "missing status" as defined in 37 USC §551(2) and 5 USC §5561(5) (e.g., held as prisoners of war or reported as "missing in action"). An absentee is a member of the armed services or an employee of the United States government or one of its agencies whose status is "missing," as defined in 37 USC §551 and 5 USC §5561. California Probate Code §§1403, 3700(a). The set-aside procedure may be used by the family for personal property of the absentee up to a value of $20,000.
If the value of the absentee's property exceeds $20,000 when calculated to include assets outside California or real property owned by the absentee, the court still has jurisdiction to set aside the absentee's personal property in California if those assets do not exceed $20,000. The value of the absentee's interest held as a joint tenant is included in ascertaining the value of the property. The joint tenancy interest may only be set aside to the family member who is the joint tenant.
If the absentee was an employee of the United States government or one of its agencies, a "certificate of missing status" must be obtained from the appropriate department or agency. See California Probate Code §3700)b). A certificate of missing status means the official written report, complying with California Evidence Code §1283, showing the determination of the Secretary of the military department, or the head of the department or agency concerned, that the absentee is in missing status. California Probate Code §3700(b).
The court must determine that it would be in the absentee's best interests, including the absentee's obligation to provide shelter, food, health care, education, transportation, or the maintenance of a reasonable and adequate standard of living for his or her family. "Family of an absentee" means an eligible spouse or, if there is no eligible spouse, the child or children equally; if there are no children, the absentee's parent or parents, equally, are considered family. The family member must be a dependent of the absentee, as defined in 37 USC §401. This requirement appears intended to ensure that only individuals who would benefit from the absentee's presence are able to have the property set aside on their behalf.