reclaiming property after going missing for years

[dakota port]

was reading an old book i had where a character was convinced via drugs to kill her family and run off to be a slave for a sadistic drug lord/killer. The killer/drug lord released her later written off in a sentence in the book(the plot was more important obviously). In the story she was the daughter of a wealthy ceo of a electronics company so she could be in the money(but possibly mentally scarred).

if she were to come out of the drug induced trance and try to reclaim/claim inheritance of the estates and money could she get them back after 5 years+ of going missing in the united states current laws(if the court never learned the truth of the murders)? How does the law deal with reclaiming property and funds after going missing for a long period of time?

how long is too long missing or presumed dead to reclaim property or inheritance?

 

[gh1950]

was reading an old book i had where a character was convinced via drugs to kill her family and run off to be a slave for a sadistic drug lord/killer. The killer/drug lord released her later written off in a sentence in the book(the plot was more important obviously). In the story she was the daughter of a wealthy ceo of a electronics company so she could be in the money(but possibly mentally scarred).

if she were to come out of the drug induced trance and try to reclaim/claim inheritance of the estates and money could she get them back after 5 years+ of going missing in the united states current laws(if the court never learned the truth of the murders)? How does the law deal with reclaiming property and funds after going missing for a long period of time?

how long is too long missing or presumed dead to reclaim property or inheritance?

Different states have different rules.

In some states, after a disappearance of a certain number of years, you are presumed dead. In some of those states, even though there is a presumption, you have to get a court order so you have something to show interested parties (banks, insurance companies, heirs).

In other states, in a shorter period of time, you have to apply to a court to a make a ruling that you are dead.

In either case, the you are legally considered dead. In both cases, it's rare but not unheard of, for the deceased to "reappear" - as @Dingo might say, they went out for a "walk about." In that case you are still "dead".

Now, if it's a case of an unknown heir (not presumed dead) then it's a whole 'nother can of worms, and again, not an unusual situation for a "love child" to show up ( think "Jett Williams"). By and large the unknown heir has whatever rights he or she had when the decedent died, especially if they were a minor at the time of death.

ON THE OTHER HAND, in most if not all states, the killer of the decedent cannot inherit from the decedent, either by operation of law (intestate) or through a will (testate). The killer cannot claim any insurance proceeds even if specifically named the beneficiary. While this seems to a relatively clean cut proposition, it gets clouded if say the killer is convicted of "murder, but mentally ill."

If you would read more Louis L'Amour you wouldn't have these kind of questions. Louis never left any questions about whether someone was dead.

 

[BIKER13]

7 years I think.But you might have to wait for the second book to come out.DP start reading Robert Parker books.