But now my favorite legal humor blog reports that this issue came up recently in a case in Ohio. There, the court decided that the guy couldn't have his standing as a living person reinstated, since he hadn't challenged the death decree within the statutory three-year time limit.
That makes questions about his estate distribution much simpler, but it does raise some interesting questions about whether, for instance, he can get a driver's license, commit a crime, or be required to pay taxes as a legally deceased person. (Part of the problem arises from the fact that Ohio law states that the death is presumed to have occurred on the date of the death decree "for all purposes under the law of this state," not just for probate purposes.)
It's an interesting case. It's also interesting that this didn't come up because of any kind of Castaway type situation. Rather, the guy apparently just left and didn't bother telling people about it:
Miller had been "last reported in Arcadia" in 1986. He testified Monday that he had lost his job, decided to look elsewhere for work, and then it just "kind of went further than I ever expected it to." (I.e., Florida.) After he'd been missing for eight years, his ex-wife asked for the death decree so their children could get Social Security death benefits, and Judge Davis agreed. According to the report, Miller returned to Ohio in 2005, whereupon his parents informed him that he was dead. He's apparently been okay with that for some time, but told the court that he would like to be alive again now so he can get his Social Security card and driver's license back.
