Declaring a person dead entitles relatives to obtain a court decision. With it, applicants can later apply to the civil registration department to obtain a death certificate.
Attorney Tatyana Potapova said this on the air of First Western, Channel 24 reports. According to her, another mechanism is not yet available due to the war on the territory of Ukraine.
What does it mean to recognize a person as dead
The judge of the Chervonograd city court of the Lviv region, Yulia Demyanovskaya, said that the right to apply to the court on an application for declaring an individual dead arises within 2 years from the end of martial law. However, this period can be reduced to 6 months.
Relatives can apply, but in this case it refers to going to court at the place of residence of the deceased person, and if such a place was unknown, then we are talking about going to court at the location of the property of this person. – added the judge.
According to her, there is also a special norm of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine, according to which, if it is said about determination of the fact of death in the temporarily occupied territory, such a statement can be considered any court other court on the territory of Ukraine.
“And the right to apply to the court with such a statement, the law does not define the circle of persons. These may be close persons, these may be relatives, these may be those persons who may later have the right to receive appropriate benefits, appropriate payments, inheritance – i.e. persons who will be interested in establishing such a fact,” Demyanovskaya said.
In addition, according to the law on the martial law regime, any reduction in the implementation of legal proceedings or restriction of citizens in the right to apply to the court not allowed. Therefore, the courts work in a regular mode – those who have the opportunity to carry out legal proceedings.
“Accordingly, when considering such statements, the court fully examines the evidence that confirms the person (deceased – Channel 24), whether the facts are that the person is declared dead, or, accordingly, the fact of the death of the individual,” the judge noted.
According to her, the difference lies not in the means of proof or evidence, but in the implementation of the judgment. Because as a general rule, when a person is declared dead, the court decision comes into force within 30 days . In turn, if the fact of death is established, such a decision is allowed for immediate execution. Filing an appeal against such a decision does not stop its execution.
“And in the first case, the court, having made such a decision, sends it to the appropriate notary office or local government, if there is no notary office at the place of residence of the deceased in the settlement person, then according to the last known place of residence of the deceased individual to ensure the safety of his property,” the judge added.
She noticed that there is a so-called moratorium on the alienation of this property, and for 5 years alienation of the property of the deceased is not allowed .
“If we are talking about establishing the fact of the death of an individual, then the legislator has not established such restrictions,” summed up Demyanovskaya.
