Estate Planning

LOST - In Real Life What Happens?

By Hull and Hull LLP

Whether you're a fan or not, it's hard to not have heard that LOST, the acclaimed television show about survivors of a plane crash, has recently celebrated its final episode.   In the last few weeks, it seems like every channel was telling me about this event. I haven't been a devoted viewer of LOST for the last several seasons, but the commercials advertising the series finale left me thinking about the show from another angle. If I put aside the fact that it's a fictional television show, the question arises – in real life, what would have happened to the survivors of flight 815. 

The story of LOST was centered around the people who were on the plane. However, if LOST was reality, the story of the other survivors, the family of the survivors, worried about their loved ones, would demand more focus. The family left behind struggles with the loss, and is often left with an ‘estate' which they cannot deal with. In such a situation, without contact for years, there is a recourse which families may utilize in order to deal with the life their loved one has left behind. 

The Declaration of Death Act, 2002 provides for the very circumstance described above. It allows for a declaration that a missing person is deemed legally dead, and thus, the assets, and life left behind can begin to move on.    Generally this requires a 7 year absence, but disappearance in circumstances of peril may shorten that time frame.    It may not be the solution for every family, but with the option available, it may be worth consideration. 

Until tomorrow,

Nadia Harasymowycz - Click here for more information on Nadia Harasymowycz.

Full post as published by Toronto Estate Law Blog on June 03, 2010 (boomark / email).