Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Virginia

Re: Declaring a Person Dead

If you're seeking a judicial determin ation that a person is dead, you would need to file a petition with the probate court where such court would normally have jurisdiction over such person if he or she had actually died in the Commonwealth(normally where s/he owned property or last resided.) An advertisement would have to be placed in the local newspaper four successive weeks regarding the fact that such petition was pending and with notice of the hearing date for a ruling on the petition(two weeks or more after the last ad). See Va. Code Sec. 64.1-108.

However, where a resident of the Commonwealth has not been seen nor heard from in seven or more years, then Section 64.1-105 of the Code would be applicable as there is already by such absence a legal presumption that in fact that particular person is in fact dead and no judical hearing and ruling per the aforementioned Sec. 64.1-108 would be required to obtain a death certificate for such person under these particular circumstances.

Re: Declaring a Person Dead

The document you're looking for is called a death certificate.

{John}