Presumed Dead

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Changes to legislation: There are currently no known outstanding effects for the Cestui Que Vie Act 1666. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/aep/Cha2/18-19/11

But some seem to want the law changed: The government should change the law to make it easier for families of missing people to deal with their affairs, the Commons Justice Select Committee says.

At present in England and Wales there is no time limit on how long financial affairs remain in a person's name where there is no death certificate. This means life insurance policies that would pay off mortgages cannot be used.

In Scotland it is assumed a court will grant presumption of death after seven years, a system which has "worked cleanly and clearly", committee chairman Sir Alan Beith told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme.

Read more here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17114868

Read more here: http://www.publications.parliament.u...663/166302.htm

3. When a person dies the executors of the will, anyone named in the will or, in the absence of a will, next of kin are able to obtain a grant of probate (or letters of administration if the deceased died without making a will) on production of the death certificate. Death certificates state that two doctors are satisfied that the deceased died from an identified cause. When a person goes missing, however, even if the circumstances of the disappearance strongly suggest he or she has died, the impossibility of a death certificate being issued leaves their affairs unresolved.

This type of document does not constitute a UK death certificate and does not replace a locally issued death certificate. Consular death registration is not a legal requirement but it means: an entry will be made in the death register by the British Consulate in the country concerned; an applicant will be able to obtain a British style certificate; and a record of the death will be held by the General Register Office in the UK