PETITION FOR PRESUMPTION OF DEATH OF MISSING INDIVIDUAL BELIEVED TO BE DEAD INSTRUCTIONS I. Specific Instructions 1. This form is to be used for Petition for Presumption of Death of Missing Individual Believed to be Dead pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 53-9-1 et seq. 2. The service requirements for this form are covered in O.C.G.A. § 53-9-2. 3. This form may be used in conjunction with a Petition for Letters of Administration, a Petition to Probate Will in Common or Solemn Form, a Petition for Year's Support or a Petition for an Order that No Administration is Necessary. Any of these other Petitions may be granted at any time after the presumption of death is established, provided that all legal requirements for the granting of the other Petition have been met. 4. Signatures of those who acknowledge service must be sworn to before a notary public or the Clerk of any Probate Court of this state. An attorney at law may acknowledge service on behalf of his/her client; however, the attorney must certify that he or she currently represents that individual with regard to the pending matter and, in order to comply with O.C.G.A. § 53-11-6, the attorney's signature must be sworn to as provided above. It is not necessary that all acknowledgments appear on the same page. 5. O.C.G.A. § 53-11-2 provides that a party to a probate proceeding who is not sui juris must be represented by a guardian provided that the Court may appoint a guardian ad litem or determine that the natural guardian, guardian, conservator, or testamentary guardian has no conflict and may serve. Should a guardian ad litem be necessary because a party is not sui juris, use Supplement 1. 6. The final order includes language for both clear and convincing evidence and preponderance of the evidence. O.C.G.A. § 53-9-1 dictates the burden required based on the circumstances of the case. 7. Paragraph 4 requires sufficient factual information for the Court to conclude that those listed in Paragraph 3 constitute all of the would-be heirs of the missing decedent and that there are not additional heirs of the same or closer degree according to O.C.G.A. § 53-2-1. These facts must allow the Court to rule out the possibility that there may be other heirs of the same or closer degree who have not been listed. Provide the date of death of any deceased heirs and the name of the Personal Representative if applicable. The Personal Representative of a deceased heir is authorized to consent on behalf of that heir. O.C.G.A. § 53-6-30. [NOTE: If you are uncertain how to determine the heirs of a decedent, refer to the "Heirs Determination Worksheet" available from the Probate Court or at www.gaprobate.gov.] Examples of such statement would be: (a) "decedent was or was not married at the time of his death and had no children born, adopted, living or deceased, other than listed herein"; (b) "decedent had no other siblings half or whole other than those listed herein"; (c) "the decedent's brother who died previously had no other children born, adopted, living or deceased, other than listed herein." General Instructions General instructions applicable to all Georgia Probate Court Standard Forms are available in each probate court or at www.gaprobate.gov, labeled GPCSF 1. II. GPCSF 18 [i] Eff. July 2016 American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com IN THE PROBATE COURT OF_________________COUNTY STATE OF GEORGIA IN RE: ESTATE OF ________________________________, MISSING INDIVIDUAL ) ) ) ) ESTATE NO. _____________ PETITION FOR PRESUMPTION OF DEATH OF MISSING INDIVIDUAL BELIEVED TO BE DEAD The Petition of ___________________________________________________________, [Full name(s) of Petitioner(s)] First Street Street City City Middle County County State State Last Zip Code Zip Code whose physical address(es) is/are __________________________________________________, and mailing address(es) is/are _____________________________________________________, shows to the Court the following: 1. _____________________________________________________________, [Full name of missing individual] First Middle Last hereinafter referred to as the "missing individual", whose place of domicile was _____________ ____________________________________________________________________ is missing. Street City County State Zip Code 2. [Initial one] (a) Petitioner has ____ (simultaneously filed) ____ (will file) a Petition concerning this estate for: [initial one] ______ 1. Administration of the estate. ______ 2. Probate of will in (common) (solemn) form. ______ 3. A year's support. ______ 4. Order that no administration is necessary. OR (b) ______ Petitioner does not presently intend to file any other proceedings. GPCSF 18 [1] Eff. July 2016 American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com 3. Listed below are all of the missing individual's would-be heirs at law, with age or majority status, address and relationship to the missing individual set opposite the name of each: Name Age (or over 18) Address Relationship ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 4. Required: [Provide sufficient factual information to enable the Court to conclude that all of the heirs of the missing individual are included and that there are no heirs of the same or closer degree according to O.C.G.A. § 53-2-1. Provide the names of any deceased heirs, the name and address of his or her Personal Representative, if any, and include the date of death for each. [See instructions for further clarification.] Also, state here all pertinent facts that may govern the method of giving notice to any party and that may determine whether or not a guardian ad litem should be appointed for any party. If any heirs listed above are cousins, grandchildren, nephews or nieces of the missing individual, indicate the deceased ancestor through whom they are related to the missing individual: ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________