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A presumption of death occurs when a person is thought to be dead by a group of people despite the absence of direct proof of the person's death, such as the finding of remains attributable to that person. Such a presumption is typically made by an individual when a person has been missing for an extended period and in the absence of any evidence that person is still alive – or after a much shorter period, but where the circumstances surrounding a person's disappearance overwhelmingly support the belief that the person is dead.
A declaration that a person is dead resembles other forms of "preventive adjudication", such as the declaratory judgment. Different jurisdictions have different legal standards for obtaining such a declaration and in some jurisdictions a presumption of death may arise after a person has been missing under certain circumstances and a certain amount of time.