BSA Section 111 — Burden of proving that person is alive who has not been heard of for seven years

Summary

When the question before a court is whether a person is alive or dead, and it is shown that no one who would naturally have heard from that person if he were alive has heard from him for seven years, then the law presumes he is dead. In that situation, the burden of proof shifts: it is no longer on the person claiming he is dead to prove it, but on the person who asserts that he is still alive to prove that he is alive.

Official Text

When the question is whether a man is alive or dead, and it is proved that he has not been heard of for seven years by those who would naturally have heard of him if he had been alive, the burden of proving that he is alive is shifted to the person who affirms it.

Old <-> New Code Mapping

• IEA §108 — Burden of proving that person is alive who has not been heard of for seven years