chrisk
08-04-2005, 12:03 PM
This is for a story I'm in the middle of writing, but I was wondering if any dopers had real legal expertise to lend to a thorny question.
One of the characters apparently died. I'm not going to go into the fantastic details of how the death was faked or by whom, except that a very good replica for his corpse was substituted, that would probably even fool a medical examiner, though I'm not certain if one would have been called under the circumstances of the 'death' (a fairly routine, if tragic car crash.)
This character has now returned home to his friends and family, claiming amnesia for at least part of the time period surrounding his death and funeral. His coffin turns out to have been 'mysteriously' stolen from the cemetary.
My question is: When would the death ceremony be revoked/reversed/whatever, and would there be any legal formalities to it?? I would think that, given a large number of witnesses who would testify that "yes, I am certain that this individual is X and could not possibly be an impostor," a relatively cursory medical exam (to establish for the record that the guy satisfies the medical requirements of being alive, and probably also to check for any obvious medical evidence that he isn't who he claims to be,) would be the only requirement. Any continuing inquiry into HOW he was alive and the circumstances of his apparent death might take longer, but shouldn't obstruct the legal formalities of declaring him alive.
But that's just a WAG really. Anybody here with more actual experience than me? Would the formalities vary at all by jurisdiction? (The story takes place in new mexico.)
PS: Writing this, I was suddenly reminded of Homer storming off to city hall, in the first episode where he meets his mother. Somehow I suspect there's a little more red tape than portrayed there. (Or, for that matter, that there wouldn't have been time for an official death certificate to be completed under the circumstances there. No funeral or anything either.)
One of the characters apparently died. I'm not going to go into the fantastic details of how the death was faked or by whom, except that a very good replica for his corpse was substituted, that would probably even fool a medical examiner, though I'm not certain if one would have been called under the circumstances of the 'death' (a fairly routine, if tragic car crash.)
This character has now returned home to his friends and family, claiming amnesia for at least part of the time period surrounding his death and funeral. His coffin turns out to have been 'mysteriously' stolen from the cemetary.
My question is: When would the death ceremony be revoked/reversed/whatever, and would there be any legal formalities to it?? I would think that, given a large number of witnesses who would testify that "yes, I am certain that this individual is X and could not possibly be an impostor," a relatively cursory medical exam (to establish for the record that the guy satisfies the medical requirements of being alive, and probably also to check for any obvious medical evidence that he isn't who he claims to be,) would be the only requirement. Any continuing inquiry into HOW he was alive and the circumstances of his apparent death might take longer, but shouldn't obstruct the legal formalities of declaring him alive.
But that's just a WAG really. Anybody here with more actual experience than me? Would the formalities vary at all by jurisdiction? (The story takes place in new mexico.)
PS: Writing this, I was suddenly reminded of Homer storming off to city hall, in the first episode where he meets his mother. Somehow I suspect there's a little more red tape than portrayed there. (Or, for that matter, that there wouldn't have been time for an official death certificate to be completed under the circumstances there. No funeral or anything either.)