Declaring a familiy member dead

Lifeforms

Hi, Not sure exactly where to put this, but it is family related which is about the best I can match up with!

Short story, 10 years roughly a relative has been missing/out of contact from the close family (brothers/sisters)
Add in the missing family members, mothers estate which is on hold currently (split over Uk and another Europe country) due to no contact from said family member.

The family member in question has been in trouble with the Law, and therefore has prints/DNA on file, and we have asked that he be notified that it's in his benefit to get in contact. But we were told, we wont get told if he turned up back in jail, or such.
As the DNA/Fingerprints should be on file, presumably any Doe body would be identifiable back to him/us.
Searches has been carried out, both by individual family members, as well as through solicitors dealing with family members effects from part estates.

Can we start to declare him dead, to try and move on? Move on everything, move on from thinking he's maybe alive, move on with the stalled estate etc.

What are the conditions/needs that we'd need to all satisfy. Is the time long enough, or do we need to register him missing somewhere, therefore starting the clock?

There is a possibility he could've ended up in with the travelling community and still be very much alive but equally as anonymous/new name.
As much as we have searched, we have no details, nothing coming up aside from his last contacts with the likes of prison a long time ago.

building_with_lego

A quick google found this regarding death in absentia.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do. Ten years of not knowing sounds awful

Lifeforms

Thanks! Had a look at that, but as it's England it'd be law wise, how could we prove they were dead? All we can go on is that they haven't been in contact with any of the family (we have no idea if they have/had OH or kids), we don't even know if They're aware that their mother died. We have no idea if they got into "big" trouble, and something happened to them. I know people like to think that you could never go missing completely, but they just seems to have done so.

Thing is, they've had periods of being un-contactable before, and this was usually down to them being in Jail. they''d come out, and we might get a call (or silent call which we suspected was them) So overall the contact with their close siblings hasn't been overly great when we did know where they were/was alive.

In England and Wales there is no single procedure for the declaration of a presumed death and the issuance of a Presumption of Death Order. Currently the Family Division of the High Court deals with presumptions of death and it falls to the missing person’s family to bring proceedings and provide evidence of the likelihood of death

building_with_lego

So I suppose he's not been declared missing then? If not you may have to do that first, then wait seven more years to declare him DIA.

I think I'd ring the local high court and ask to speak to someone from the family division regarding a declaration of death in absentia. Or the CAB? Sorry, I'm not an expert at all but just having a look around t'internet for you

Just found Missing People's website- there may be something useful on there...