Analysis
A mother, D, acting as litigation friend for her 11-year-old son, C, sought a declaration that the son’s father, P, was presumed to be dead. D and P were partners who cohabited and raised C together, but were never married nor in a civil partnership. In April 2011 P flew to South America with his friend G to enjoy a holiday. P kept in regular contact with D until his communications abruptly ceased while he was in Lima, Peru. P’s last known communication was a text message sent to D on 16 May 2011. G also ceased to communicate with his loved ones. Neither P nor G had been seen or heard from by family or friends since, and a number of enquiries and attempts at tracing them had elicited no information as to what had happened to them. Section 2(1) of the Presumption of Death Act 2013 provides that:
‘On an application [for a declaration that a missing person is presumed to be dead], the court must make the declaration if it is satisfied that the missing person— (a) has died, or (b) has not been known to be alive for a period of at least 7 years’.
Held:
The declaration would be made. Although the judge was not satisfied that the evidence established that P had died, such a finding being appropriate only where there is clear evidence of death, he was satisfied that P was missing and had not been known to be alive for over seven years. Therefore, the judge found that P was presumed to have died at the end of the period of seven years beginning with the day after the day on which he was last known to be alive, this being required by s2(4) of the 2013 Act. P was therefore declared to be presumed to have died at midnight on 16 May 2018.
JUDGMENT POOLE J: [1] On 12 November 2021 I heard from D who acts as Litigation Friend for her son, C, in a claim for a declaration under the Presumption of Death Act 2013 that her son’s father, P, is presumed to be dead. This judgment sets out the reasons why I have made the …Continue reading "Re P [2022] WTLR 251"