Legal consequences of declaring a person dead.

A person may be declared dead only after the statutory period of missing persons has expired:

1. The general period is 3 years from the date of the last information about the person.
2. A shorter period of 6 months if the person disappeared under circumstances that threatened his or her life (for example, during hostilities, disasters, accidents, natural disasters).
3. For military personnel and other persons who disappeared during military operations - 2 years from the date of the end of military operations.

Declaring a person dead through a court entails consequences that are equivalent to the actual death of the person.

From the date of entry into force of the court decision:

1. Legal status of the person:

• The person is officially declared dead.

2. Inheritance issues:

• An inheritance is opened for all property of the person.
• A five-year ban on the alienation of inherited property by heirs is imposed.

3. Family law consequences:

• Marriage is automatically terminated.
• Family members and dependents are entitled to a survivor's pension.

4. Financial and legal consequences:

• All powers of attorney issued or received by the deceased person are terminated.
• Obligations directly related to the person are terminated if they do not provide for legal succession (for example, obligations to compensate for damage caused by injury or death).

If the person declared dead appears and provides evidence of his or her identity, the court may cancel the decision to declare him or her dead.

In this case:

• The heirs must return the property, if it has been preserved.
• If the property has already been sold, the person may be returned its monetary equivalent.
• Marriage is not automatically renewed - it must be re-registered with the Civil Status Registration Office of the Administration of Justice.