Justice CommitteeWritten evidence from Claire Chandler
Executive Summary
1. Since my partner disappeared I have received little guidance on dealing with his affairs or information about accessing presumption of death provisions. Some of the information I have obtained has been contradictory. I believe that there is sufficient evidence that my partner has died, but I have thus far been discouraged from taking matters further before seven years have elapsed. I have been frustrated and upset by the attitude of the companies and authorities with which I’ve dealt and by their lack of clear procedure. In addition, dealing with my partner’s possessions has been a financial burden on top of the emotional distress. My partner deserves to have his estate settled as he wished, and I would like to see the law changed to make it much easier to deal with the affairs of a missing person where there are reasonable grounds to suppose that the person has died.
Does the current system work effectively?
2. No, I believe that the current system creates emotional and financial strain for families at a time when they are already experiencing great distress.
Does the current system create difficulties for families and, if so, how can these be resolved?
3. My experience is that the current system creates difficulties for families. I have not found it easy to obtain information about what should happen, and what to do, when a person goes missing. The information I have received from different sources has sometimes been contradictory. My partner disappeared from a cross-Channel ferry in February 2011. After the ferry company informed me that he had not disembarked with the other passengers and that all his possessions had been found in his cabin, my initial dealings were with the Missing Persons Unit of the Metropolitan Police. I cannot remember how long it was before I heard about the seven-year period before presumption of death; I recall being told by the police only that, unless my partner’s body was found (and I was told that this was unlikely), it would be a long time before there could be any resolution of my partner’s affairs.
4. Three or four weeks after my partner’s disappearance I met with his accountant. The accountant invited to the meeting a solicitor experienced in probate who works in the same building. The solicitor was the first person to mention to me the possibility of using presumption of death provisions before seven years have elapsed. He had made some calls and was at that time unable to find anybody at the Bar who had experience of seeking an order for presumption of death. He was, however, reasonably confident that, subject to getting a barrister’s advice, it would be possible to seek an order, if the police were able to issue a report that was sufficiently positive about my partner’s fate—that is, there was reasonable evidence that he had died.
5. When I discussed this matter with the police, they told me that, because I did not live with my partner and have no legal status, it would fall to my partner’s family to bring proceedings and provide evidence of the likelihood of death. They advised that presumption of death is granted only in very particular circumstances, such as a plane crash or another disaster, when it is established that there were no survivors. I was further informed that the matter would be complicated by the fact that my partner went missing in the Channel, crossing both British and French waters.
6. A few months later, I asked the charity Missing People if it could recommend a lawyer experienced in dealing with the affairs of missing people. The lawyer with whom I spoke told me that she believed any interested party could seek an order for presumption of death, not just the missing person’s family, but she said that it would be very unusual to attempt to do so before seven years. In the meantime, my partner’s next of kin, a brother who lives abroad, informed me that he does not wish to be involved in any decisions regarding my partner’s affairs. Therefore, if I do not myself at some point seek a presumption of death order, it will never happen, and I feel strongly that it would be a disservice to my partner if there were never any resolution of his affairs and his estate were not settled as he instructed in his will.
7. Missing People has now put me in touch with the charity Missing Abroad, to help me look into the possibility of obtaining a consular death certificate for my partner. Neither the police nor any other authority or lawyer has informed me about this possibility.
8. If the possibility of a consular death certificate comes to nothing, I appear to be faced with two options: wait for seven years, and effectively feel as if my life is on hold, constantly worrying about my partner’s affairs being in limbo; or spend what is likely to be a considerable amount of money on legal representation, with no guarantee of getting a presumption of death order. I have only recently discovered that, even after seven years, one still has to apply to the High Court to obtain such an order; the process is not automatic.
9. In addition to trying to obtain information about presumption of death, I’ve found it very stressful to deal with financial institutions and other organizations regarding my partner’s affairs. The police suggested to me and my partner’s brother that we inform the relevant authorities about my partner’s disappearance, giving them details of the investigation. Only a couple of authorities responded to the letter; all continued to send correspondence to my partner’s flat. The utility companies began to send legal letters to my partner because bills were unpaid, and when I rang them to explain the situation they told me either to ignore the letters or that there was simply nothing they could do to stop the legal process. One utility company even told me that its debt collectors would manage to find my partner. I felt as if my partner were being criminalized, but he’s not hiding from these companies; he’s died. None of the authorities appears to have a policy regarding missing people, and my partner’s affairs are left in a mess.
10. My partner had life insurance policies with two different companies. One company has been sympathetic and responsive (primarily because my partner’s accountant is a trustee of the policy, and so has been able to get replies to his queries), although it has indicated that it would not pay out on the policy before seven years. The other company has been much more difficult and slow to respond, and has said it cannot answer any questions about the policy until probate is obtained. No one has the authority to look into my partner’s financial affairs at this time, but these insurance policies appear to be the main assets of his estate, and I am anxious about what will happen because I understand that the cost of an application for presumption of death is usually covered by the missing person’s estate.
11. In his will, my partner asked me to distribute his possessions among friends and charities. The legal advice I have been given is that I cannot do this until such time that his affairs can be administered. My partner rented his flat from a housing association, and the association sought an order to repossess the property once the rent had not been paid for a certain period. Fortunately, it was sympathetic in allowing me access, but I am now in a position of having to store as many of my partner’s things as I can, including in paid storage, for up to seven years. The paid storage is a significant financial burden, but I could not otherwise bear to see my partner’s possessions end up being sold or thrown away rather than distributed as instructed in his will.
12. The loss of one’s partner is one of the worst things in life; to lose your partner without knowing for sure what happened to them, not to have their body, not to be able to organize a funeral, is unbearable. There is no sense of closure. The lack of clear guidance since my partner’s disappearance has been incredibly frustrating; I feel utterly abandoned, and my uncertainty about the future causes me a great deal of stress. At this time I have no idea when my partner’s estate may be settled. I wish to see things resolved primarily for my partner’s sake, but also to allow me at least to attempt to get on with my life without this constant worry about his affairs. I could understand objections to obtaining a presumption of death order if my partner had walked out of his flat and disappeared into the crowds, but he disappeared in the middle of the Channel with no possessions. There seems to me no possibility that he is still alive, and to have to wait seven years for this to be recognized in the eyes of the law only adds to my considerable distress. In such circumstances—where there is evidence that the missing person is likely to have died—it should be easier for presumption of death to be granted.
13. I would like to see better guidance for families dealing with financial authorities, utility companies and other organizations when a person goes missing, and most importantly a single clear procedure for obtaining a presumption of death order. If a solicitor had not mentioned to me the possibility of obtaining such an order, I don’t know how long it would have taken me to find out the relevant information by myself—and even now I’m not clear if this is a realistic option at this stage. No one can give me a straight answer. Families face so much anguish when a loved one goes missing, and it’s distressing for them to learn that the law at present is virtually non-existent as far as missing persons are concerned.
September 2011