Families of missing people need “presumed dead” certificates so they can deal with their financial affairs, MPs say today in a report backed by the father of Claudia Lawrence.
The Justice Select Committee said the “pain and anguish” of the disappearance of a loved one is made worse for relatives by a “confusing, costly and emotionally-exhausting legal process”.
They called for the “crazy paving” of existing provisions to be simplified with guardianship orders, allowing the estates of people missing for longer than three months to be managed so direct debits can be cancelled and debts paid off.
After seven years, families in England and Wales should be allowed to apply for a single presumption of death order, as they can do in Scotland, which would be accepted by all businesses and authorities.
The report also urged the Ministry of Justice to publish guidance for the families of missing people on the “convoluted and obscure” processes they must go through, and better information for lawyers and insurers.
Sir Alan Beith, the committee’s chairman, said: “We do not agree with Government Ministers who claim the system is working ‘adequately’.
“The evidence we have heard from families faced with the problems of resolving these affairs is overwhelming. The law needs to be changed.
“The Government owes it to these families to look at this issue again very carefully before it responds to our report.”
The recommendations in the study, published on Wednesday, have been backed by the father of Claudia Lawrence, the chef who went missing from her home in York almost three years ago.
Peter Lawrence said he has had to battle with her bank, mortgage provider and insurance company in order to keep her financial affairs in order.
Speaking just days before his daughter’s 38th birthday, Mr Lawrence said: “After around three weeks of Claudia’s disappearance we realised that we had an enormous amount of her personal business that needed to be dealt with.
“We needed to move her money from one bank account to another and speak to her mortgage providers but we were always met with the same response – you’re not our customer.
“Even cancelling direct debits was very difficult as the money continued to leave her account.
“It has taken a great deal of cost and effort in the most difficult time of my family’s life to do this and this new legislation, if implemented, would make it far easier for families to get the affairs of a missing person in order.
“I have been promised by the Ministry of Justice that the recommendations in this report will be looked at before the end of this parliamentary term.”
The committee insisted that primary legislation is needed, alongside new guidance for families and institutions.
It acknowledged the concerns of the insurance industry that “more people may be tempted to stage a disappearance” in order to commit fraud and claim on their life insurance policies.
But the MPs pointed out that in the 34 years since Scotland had introduced presumed death certificates, only one missing person had reappeared after being made subject to such an order.
Joe Apps of the UK Missing Persons Bureau told the inquiry: “There are very few cases like John Stonehouse or Lord Lucan, where people just seem to disappear and are never seen again. We are all just so well-connected.”
Source: The Telegraph
Related articles
- Call for new ‘presumed dead’ law (bbc.co.uk)
- Claudia Lawrence wreaths torment (nla.thesun.co.uk)
