[WSBAPT] Declaration of Presumed Death

[Andrekita Silva]

Jennifer

          I have not secured a certificate of presumed death in the  
probate context. However, I secured a judgment and order for the  
coroner of either King County and/ or Pima County, Arizona to issue  
one.  I had a client whose husband was believed to have perished in  
the Arizona desert while after crossing the border from Mexico. He had  
not been seen for 8 years and she was unable to secure passports for  
her children, approve surgeries for her children, or do anything that  
required both parents. You must have a contested action (which you  
do), so I filed a divorce petition. In that action, we filed a motion  
for a declaratory judgment pursuant to 7.24. You must give notice to  
all interested parties.  In our case we explained that we couldn’t  
give notice because we believed H was dead.  We presented all our  
proof of why we believed H had perished in the desert.  In our case,  
this included declarations by my client and 2 of H’s siblings,  
research from the internet showing the high risks associated with  
trying to cross the desert and statistics on deaths, unidentified  
remains, etc., and we provided a declaration of an organization that  
had assisted my client in searching at hospitals, jails, etc. right  
after he disappeared and then again at the one year point. I also did  
follow up contacts with the various coroner’s offices along the S.E.  
border to see if he had shown up.
               So, you would want to do a pretty vigorous search for  
the missing person, and submit that along with efforts by others to  
locate the person. Presumably, the conditions under which he  
disappeared would determine how vigorous your efforts might be.  If  
everyone saw his ship go down in the Artic waters of Alaska, and they  
never found his body, 7 years later, less evidence is probably required.
               The trick is that Washington statute says that the  
coroner or medical examiner for the county in which the presumed  
deceased was last seen alive would issue the certificate.  In our  
case, although he lived in King County prior to his death, and my  
client remained here, everyone knew he was last seen alive in the  
Arizona desert. So after getting our order, we had to approach the  
Pima County coroner. The Arizona statute says the county of residence  
issues the certificate.  We eventually beat the certificate out of  
Pima County.
               You said the son was presumed to have died in Spain.  
 So, possibly, you may have to get the certificate issued in Spain.  
When I was researching for my case, there was a case where the ship  
started out in Canadian waters but it was believed to have crossed  
into U.S. waters- or something like that.  There was no question that  
the person had died but there was a jurisdictional question.  So, you  
may run into some hitches.
 
andrekita
Law Office of F. Andrekita Silva
1325 Fourth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, Washington 98101
206-224-8288
www.seattle-silvalaw.com

Quoting Jennifer Mackley <jennifer.mackley at mackleylaw.com>:

> I am wondering if anyone has navigated the process of obtaining a  
> death certificate  under RCW 11.05A.050 (4) or (5) for a missing  
> person. PC’s son has been missing for 12 years and is presumed to  
> have died in Spain. His father died 4 years ago in King County and  
> missing son’s small inheritance is now being held by the state. PC  
> wants to claim it in son’s behalf in case his body is ever found, so  
> she will be able to use the funds to bring him home. I would  
> appreciate some direction on how to help her navigate the process.  
> Thank you in advance.
>
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>    Jennifer
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>    RCW 11.05A.050 /(4) In the absence of prima facie evidence of  
> death under subsection (2) or (3) of this section, the fact of death  
> may be established by clear and convincing evidence, including  
> circumstantial evidence./
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>    /(5) An individual whose death is not established under this  
> section who is absent for a continuous period of seven years, during  
> which he or she has not been heard from, and whose absence is not  
> satisfactorily explained after diligent search or inquiry, is  
> presumed to be dead. His or her death is presumed to have occurred  
> at the end of the period unless there is sufficient evidence for  
> determining that death occurred earlier./
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>    JENNIFER MACKLEY | Mackley & Mackley, PLLC | (206) 938-4969[1] |  
> www.mackleylaw.com[2]
>
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Links:
------
[1] mailto:(206)%C2%A0938-4969
[2] http://www.mackleylaw.com
  andrekita
Law Office of F. Andrekita Silva
1325 Fourth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, Washington 98101
206-224-8288
www.seattle-silvalaw.com
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