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Procedure to receive a "presumptive death" certificate?
Anonymous11 views2 answers
Hello:
My boyfriend went missing 4 months ago and all evidence points to a suicide by drowning. Basically, he left a suicide note, a boat was found floating in the middle of a lake with his belongings inside (including half empty bottle of alcohol and he wasn't a real drinker) and he can't swim. A body was never recovered. There has been no activity on any of his bank accounts or any other evidence to suggest that he is "out there somewhere".
We had purchased a home together and I am not able to make the payments on my income alone. His parents think that we should proceed in trying to get a death certificate so that I can get some relief.
My question is what is the procedure for this and how does it work?
I thank you for your time!
Sorry for your loss.
There are two procedures in the probate code to establish death. One is specific for real property and the other is to establish death for missing person.
The first procedure is typically used when a death certificate is not yet available or the decedent passed away in a foreign country and a death certificate cannot be obtained. You can try this procedure, but the court may not grant your petition based on the short period of time that your boyfriend has been missing.
Based on the information you provided, you probably have to petition the court to establish the death of your boyfriend. Unfortunately, you cannot do this until he has not been seen or heard from for a period of five years. I suggest you start building the case for when you can file that petition by filing a missing persons report, posting on the various missing persons websites, contacting the surrounding coroners' offices to see if they have a body matching your boyfriend's description, and monitoring his bank accounts.
You should speak with an attorney about the best option for you.
