CopyCited 9 times | Published | Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | 3 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1269, 1985 U.S. App. LEXIS 23695
...in the same way the Florida courts would. 12 18 The Brancas contend that Florida law expressly designates foreign judgments of presumptive death as prima facie evidence of the time and place of death. The Brancas rely on this statutory language: 13 731.103 Evidence as to death or status 19 In proceedings under this code, the rules of evidence in civil actions are applicable unless specifically changed by the code....
...facts related, presumed dead is prima facie evidence of the status and of the dates, circumstances, and places disclosed by the record or report. [Emphasis supplied.] 23 If we assume that the Argentine decree qualifies as prima facie evidence under section
731.103(2), we must determine if the Brancas' action for insurance benefits is one of the "proceedings under this code." We turn to the short title section of the Florida Probate Code, which states: 14
731.005 Short title 24 Chapters 731-735...
...eferred to as "the code" in this act. 25 In order for the Argentine decree to be prima facie evidence of the fact and date of death, the action must be pursuant to statutory rights defined by the Florida Probate Code. We think it is quite clear that section 731.103 makes the general civil rules of evidence applicable to probate proceedings, subject to the listed modifications....
...arena. General civil contract law governs the Brancas' action on an insurance contract, and not the law of probate. The Brancas' contract action, therefore, is not one of the "proceedings under this code" to which the evidentiary rule established in section 731.103(2) applies....
CopyCited 3 times | Published | District Court, N.D. Florida | 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 28358, 2005 WL 1153363
...which declares in relevant part: "A person who is absent from the place of his or her last known domicile for a continuous period of 5 years and whose absence is not satisfactorily explained after diligent search and inquiry is presumed to be dead." § 731.103(3) Fla....
CopyCited 2 times | Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2004 WL 360827
...97-237, § 106, at 4169, Laws of Fla. (eliminating provision in section
382.025(5), Florida Statutes, that provided for such prima facie evidentiary value in "all courts and cases"); Branca by Branca v. Sec. Benefit Life Ins. Co.,
773 F.2d 1158 (11th Cir.1985) (holding section
731.103, Florida Statutes, providing for prima facie evidentiary value upon the presentation of enumerated evidence of death, applies only in probate proceedings)....
CopyPublished | Supreme Court of Florida | 13 Fla. L. Weekly 601, 1988 Fla. LEXIS 1463, 1988 WL 143178
...h and inquiry is presumed dead. His death is presumed to have occurred at the end of the period unless there is evidence establishing that death occurred earlier. Committee Notes This rule represents a rule implementation of the procedure found in F.S. 731.103....
...permit issuance of a death certificate by an official or agency of the United States. An example would be such a certificate issued by the Department of State or the Department of Defense. Rule History 1988 Revision: New rule. Statutory Reference F.S. 731.103 Evidence as to death or status....
...Committee notes revised. 1988 Revision: Editorial and substantive changes. Adds (a)(8) to require filing when will is admitted to probate without administration of the estate or an order disposing of property. Committee notes revised. Statutory Reference F.S. 731.103 Evidence as to death or status....
CopyPublished | Supreme Court of Florida | 13 Fla. L. Weekly 601, 1988 Fla. LEXIS 1475, 1988 WL 53983
...h and inquiry is presumed dead. His death is presumed to have occurred at the end of the period unless there is evidence establishing that death occurred earlier. Committee Notes This rule represents a rule implementation of the procedure found in F.S. 731.103....
...permit issuance of a death certificate by an official or agency of the United States. An example would be such a certificate issued by the Department of State or the Department of Defense. Rule History 1988 Revision: New rule. Statutory Reference F.S. 731.103 Evidence as to death or status....
...Committee notes revised. 1988 Revision: Editorial and substantive changes. Adds (a)(8) to require filing when will is admitted to probate without administration of the estate or an order disposing of property. Committee notes revised. Statutory Reference F.S. 731.103 Evidence as to death or status....
CopyPublished | Supreme Court of Florida | 17 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 636, 1992 Fla. LEXIS 1622, 1992 WL 249483
...d dead. HisThe person’s death is presumed to have occurred *1327 at the end of the period unless there is evidence establishing that death occurred earlier. Committee Notes This rule represents a rule implementation of the procedure found in 5⅛_ section 731.103, Florida Statutes....
...An example would be such a certificate issued by the Department of State or the Department of Defense. Rule History 1988 Revision: New rule. 1992 Revision: Editorial changes. Committee notes revised. Citation form changes in committee notes. Statutory References 3¾§4 731.103, Fla.Stat....
...Adds (a)(8) to require filing when will is admitted to probate without administration of the estate or an order disposing of property. Committee notes revised. 1992 Revision: Editorial changes. Committee notes revised. Citation form changes in committee notes. Statutory References RSr§ 731.103, Fla.Stat....
CopyPublished | Supreme Court of Florida | 35 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 482, 2010 Fla. LEXIS 1455, 2010 WL 3431722
...e filed. Rule History 1980 Revision 2003 Revision [No Change] 2010 Revision: Committee notes revised. *582 Statutory References §
28.222(3)(g), Fla. Stat. Clerk to be county recorder. §
382.008(6), Fla. Stat. Death and fetal death registration. §
731.103, Fla....
CopyPublished | Supreme Court of Florida | 9 Fla. L. Weekly 401, 1984 Fla. LEXIS 3390
...the death of a decedent. The court may, upon ex parte application, waive compliance with this rule or require filing at any stage in the proceedings. 1984 Revision: Captions and minor editorial changes. Committee notes revised. Statutory Reference F.S. 731.103 Evidence as to death or status....
CopyPublished | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 1996 Fla. App. LEXIS 11091, 1996 WL 603794
WARNER, Judge. Appellant petitioned the trial court to declare Graham Woods as deceased because he had perished at sea in the sinking of a cruise ship during a hurricane. Believing that section 731.103, Florida Statutes (1995), precluded the court from declaring Mr....
...It recovered the body of a ninth crew member on a third raft. Eventually the Coast Guard located 27 of the 30 life rafts from the ship. It found no trace of Mr. Woods or Captain Engebretsen. Mrs. Woods promptly sought to have her husband declared dead pursuant to sections
731.103 and
733.209, Florida Statutes (1995). She filed a letter from the Coast Guard which detailed its efforts to find the ship’s crew. While the trial court considered the Coast Guard letter, it would not declare Mr. Woods dead, concluding that section
731.103(3) prevented it from doing so until five years after Mr....
...years and whose absence is not satisfactorily explained after diligent search and inquiry is presumed to be dead. His death is presumed to have occurred at the end of the period unless there is *905 evidence establishing that death occurred earlier. §
731.103(3) (emphasis supplied). At common law, upon the expiration of seven years’ unexplained absence, a presumption of death arose. Groover v. Simonhoff,
157 So.2d 541 (Fla. 3d DCA 1963). Section
731.103(3) provides for that presumption to arise after only five years’ unexplained absence....
CopyPublished | Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
...law in the same way the Florida courts would. 12 The Brancas contend that Florida law expressly designates foreign judgments of presumptive death as prima facie evidence of the time and place of death. The Brancas rely on this statutory language: 13 731.103 Evidence as to death or status In proceedings under this code, the rules of evidence in civil actions are applicable unless specifically changed by the code....
...the facts related, presumed dead is prima facie evidence of the status and of the dates, circumstances, and places disclosed by the record or report. [Emphasis supplied.] If we assume that the Argentine decree qualifies as prima facie evidence under section
731.103(2), we must determine if the Brancas’ action for insurance benefits is one of the “proceedings under this code.” We turn to the short title section of the Florida Probate Code, which states: 14
731.005 Short title Chapters 731-7...
...ferred to as “the code” in this act. In order for the Argentine decree to be prima facie evidence of the fact and date of death, the action must be pursuant to statutory rights defined by the Florida Probate Code. We think it is quite clear that section 731.103 makes the general civil rules of evidence applicable to probate proceedings, subject to the listed modifications....
...General civil contract law governs the Brancas’ action on an insurance contract, and not the law of probate. The Brancas’ contract action, therefore, is not one of the “proceedings under *1162 this code” to which the evidentiary rule established in section 731.103(2) applies....
CopyPublished | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 2014 Fla. App. LEXIS 18175, 2014 WL 5781428
...9 years. Because we *761 conclude .that the trial court erred in summarily denying the petition, we reverse and remand for an evidentiary hearing. 1 On November 8, 2013, Appellant petitioned the trial court to declare his sister deceased pursuant to section 731.103(3), Florida .Statutes (2013). According to the petition, Appellant’s sister went missing in 1974 and has never been found. She was 14 years old at the time. The trial court denied the petition, finding that the evidence was insufficient to prove that she was dead. 2 Section 731.103(3), Florida Statutes (2013), provides that: A person who is absent from the place of his or her last known domicile for a continuous period of 5 years and whose absence is not satisfactorily explained after diligent search and inquiry is presumed to be dead....
...The person’s death is presumed to have occurred at the end of the period unless there is evidence establishing that death occurred earlier.... A petition for this determination shall be filed in the county in Florida where the decedent maintained his or her domicile.... §
731.103(3), Fla. Stat.- (2013). Section
731.103(3) creates a presumption of death after the person has been absent for five years. Woods v. Estate of Woods,
681 So.2d 903, 905 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996) (“At common law, upon the éxpiration of seven years’ unexplained absence, a presumption of death arose.” (citing Groover v. Simonhoff,
157 So.2d 541 (Fla. 3d DCA 1963))). Section
731.103(3) “is merely a procedure by which the Legislature has provided a method to judicially establish the presumption of death which has already arisen by the passage of time.” Id. (citing Groover,
157 So.2d at 543 ). In applying section
731.103(3), the standard of proof is “ ‘[whether] the circumstantial evidence amounts to a preponderance of all reasonable inferences that can be drawn from the circumstances in evidence to the end that the evidence is not reasonably susceptible of two equally reasonable inferences.’ ” Id....
...Their parents filed a missing person’s report with the Orlando Police Department. There was no indication that his. sister would have run away from home and there is no record of her whereabouts. Due to the length of time that Mable Louise Andrews has been missing, there exists a presumption that she is deceased. See § 731.103(3), Fla....
CopyPublished | Supreme Court of Florida | 27 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 423, 2002 Fla. LEXIS 873, 2002 WL 825699
...Committee notes revised. Citation form changes in committee notes. 2002 Revision: Replaces “homestead” with “protected homestead” in (a)(7) to conform to addition of term in section
731.201(29), Florida Statutes. Committee notes revised. Statutory References §
731.103, Fla....
CopyPublished | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 1993 Fla. App. LEXIS 2498, 1993 WL 64800
...Hopper filed a breach of contract action against Dependable for its refusal to pay death benefits under the policy. Also in September 1988, the probate court in Okaloosa County entered an Order of Presumptive Death finding that Mr. Hopper died on February 6, 1980. See § 731.103(3), Fla.Stat....
...ound that the statute of limitations began to run on February 6, 1980, and therefore that the limitations period had expired. We reverse. When a person is absent from his or her last known domicile for five years, that person is presumed to be dead. § 731.103(3), Fla.Stat....
CopyPublished | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 2007 Fla. App. LEXIS 9019, 2007 WL 1647561
...In granting summary judgment, the trial judge apparently gave conclusive effect to the death certificate and disregarded the opinion of Appellants’ expert. This was error. A death certificate is prima facie proof of the “fact, place, date, and time of death as well as the identity of the decedent.” § 731.103(1), Fla....
CopyPublished | Supreme Court of Florida | 28 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 495, 2003 Fla. LEXIS 1063, 2003 WL 21402500
...2003 Revision: Revises subdivision (a)(1) to change notice of administration to notice to creditors. Deletes subdivision (a)(3) referring to family administration, and renumbers subsequent subdivisions. Committee notes revised. Statutory References § 731.103, Fla....
