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Suppose a person disappears and is thought to have died (e.g. massive fireball plane crash, 'nobody could have survived that') and so their estate was administered.

And then, after their property has gone to some beneficiaries and maybe on-sold or distributed to the beneficiaries of the estates of beneficiaries who have died, etc, the person turns up alive, e.g. parachuted at the last minute while everyone was distracted by something else.

What happens to the property that was dealt with through the person's estate? Is it all clawed back?

The jurisdiction is Victoria, Australia.

Patrick Conheady
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1 Answers1

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This is a pretty detailed summary of the legal issues around missing persons. The relevant info is on p.8:

Where a grant of representation is made on the presumption of death, the personal representative must get permission from the Court before they can distribute the missing person’s estate. The Court may place conditions on the grant. For example, it may set a limit on how much of the property can be distributed, or it may make the personal representative agree to give back any money or property they receive from the estate if the Court later revokes (cancels) the grant. If a grant is made on the presumption of death and the missing person is later found to be living, the grant may be revoked by the Court. If this happens, people who have received property from the estate will not have to give it back, provided the personal representative has acted ‘in good faith’ (that is, they have acted according to the law and distributed the estate in the honest belief that the missing person has died). These provisions exist to protect the interests of the missing person.

Dale M
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