Florida Statute 731.103
“Evidence as to death or status”
What it means
Most estates prove death with paper: an authenticated death certificate from the place of death is prima facie proof of the fact, place, date, and time of death and the decedent's identity. A governmental record or report — domestic or foreign — that a person is alive, missing, detained, or presumed dead is prima facie evidence of that status.
For the missing, subsection (3) supplies the presumption: 5 continuous years of unexplained absence from the last known domicile, after diligent search and inquiry, presumes death — at the end of the period unless evidence shows it earlier. Exposure to a specific peril can support a finding of death at any time after the exposure, and subsection (4) allows death to be proven by direct or circumstantial evidence before the 5 years run.
- An authenticated death certificate is prima facie proof of the fact, place, date, and time of death and of identity.
- A governmental record or report, domestic or foreign, is prima facie evidence that a person is alive, missing, detained, or presumed dead.
- Presumption of death: 5 continuous years of unexplained absence after diligent search and inquiry.
- Death is presumed at the end of the 5 years unless evidence establishes an earlier date.
- Specific peril exposure lets the court find death at any time after the exposure — no 5-year wait.
- Subsection (4): death may be established by direct or circumstantial evidence before the 5-year period expires.
How it plays out
We use subsection (1) daily — every petition attaches the death certificate. The rest of the section appears in the hardest files we handle: a family member missing after a hurricane, a boating accident with no recovery, a disappearance nobody can explain. The specific-peril and circumstantial-evidence routes usually shorten the wait dramatically when there is a documented event; the full 5-year presumption is the fallback when there is only silence. Either way, the documented search is what carries the petition.
Where this shows up
Pages on this site where § 731.103 does real work:
Questions people ask
