Legally Dead Man Sentenced to Be Actually Dead

[lafinjack]

After I reported on the case of Donald Miller, the Ohio man who failed to convince a judge he should not be considered legally dead ("'No, You're Still Deceased,' Judge Tells Dead Man" (Oct. 10, 2013)), several people wrote in to ask what would happen if, for example, Miller was asked to pay taxes or charged with a crime. While the statute in

Comments

[ginger_maya]

...Wut?

[akashasheiress]

Maybe it's the sangría talking, but I'm not sure I even understood this one.

[ladycyndra]

Same. Cause, uh...huh?

[lafinjack]

If you disappear for X amount of time you can be declared legally dead, for the purposes of wills and Social Security and stuff. If you come back, it's not necessarily automatic that they undeclare your death even if you try, like in the first case.

[akashasheiress]

Gotcha, thanks! Weird.

[crossfire]

This is why you unit test your legal code, people.