Section 472.290 - Rules of evidence to apply - exceptions - specific rulesIn proceedings under this code the rules of evidence in circuit courts, including any relating to simultaneous deaths, are applicable unless specifically displaced by the code. In addition, the following rules relating to determination of death and status are applicable:
(1) A certified or authenticated copy of a death certificate issued by an official or agency of the place where the death occurred is prima facie proof of the fact, place, date, time of death, and the identity of the decedent;(2) A certified or authenticated copy of any record or report of a governmental agency, domestic or foreign, that a person is missing, detained, dead, or alive is prima facie evidence, sufficient to support a judicial finding, of the status and of the dates, circumstances, and places disclosed by the record or report;(3) A person who is absent for a continuous period of five years, during which time he has not been heard from, and whose absence is not satisfactorily explained after diligent search or inquiry, is presumed to be dead. His death is presumed to have occurred at the end of the period unless there is sufficient evidence for determining that death occurred earlier.L. 1980 S.B. 637
Effective 1/1/1981