Administering The Estate Of A Missing Person

• Law Firm: Zenas Chambers, ChimwaMurombe Legal Practice
• Subject Matter: Tax, Family and Matrimonial, Inheritance Tax, Wills/ Intestacy/ Estate Planning
• Author: ChimwaMurombe Legal Practice
• Published date: 21 July 2023

Administering an estate of a missing person can be a complex process. In Zimbabwe in order to initiate the registering of an estate of a missing person, you first have to obtain a presumption of death order from the court and this is done in terms of the Missing Persons Act [ Chapter 5:15]. A presumption of death order is necessary to legally declare someone deceased. This order can be sought by interested parties, typically close family members. In instances where the person making the application is not a person who is the nearest relative of the missing person the relatives must be notified.

Who is a missing person

The Missing persons Act does not define who a missing person is however a missing person has often been described as a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are unknown.

Time requirements

In Zimbabwe, there is no time frame in which one can approach the court for a presumption of death order.

Holding of an enquiry into the circumstances of a missing person

After the application is lodged, the clerk of court publishes a notice in the in the Gazette and in a newspaper circulating in the area in which the person in respect of whom the order is applied for was ordinarily resident or other newspapers as the magistrate may direct.

The court will consider various forms of evidence to determine whether the person should be presumed dead. This can include testimony from witnesses, police reports, expert opinions, and...