456.035. Evidence as to death or status--five-year absence presumption of death. - Missouri Statutes

Evidence as to death or status--five-year absence presumption ofdeath.

456.035. 1. A certified or authenticated copy of a death certificatepurporting to be issued by an official or agency of the place where thedeath purportedly occurred is prima facie proof of the fact, place, dateand time of death and the identity of the deceased settlor, trustee,beneficiary or other interested person.

2. A certified or authenticated copy of any record or report of agovernmental agency, domestic or foreign, that a person is missing,detained, dead, or alive is prima facie evidence of the status and of thedates, circumstances and places disclosed by the record or report.

3. A person who is absent for a continuous period of five years,during which he has not been heard from, and whose absence is notsatisfactorily explained after diligent search or inquiry is presumed to bedead. His death is presumed to have occurred at the end of the periodunless there is sufficient evidence for determining that death occurredearlier.

(L. 1983 H.B. 117, A.L. 2004 H.B. 1511)

*Transferred 2004; formerly 456.620