Evidence of death or status.

Sec. 1207.

In addition to the rules of evidence in courts of general jurisdiction, the court shall determine death or status in accordance with the following:

Death occurs when an individual is determined to be dead under the determination of death act, 1992 PA 90, MCL 333.1031 to 333.1034.

A certified or authenticated copy of a death certificate purporting to be issued by an official or agency of the place where the death purportedly occurred is prima facie evidence of the decedent's identity and of the fact, place, date, and time of the decedent's death.

A certified or authenticated copy of a record or report of a governmental agency, domestic or foreign, that an individual is missing, detained, dead, or alive is prima facie evidence of the individual's status and of the dates, circumstances, and places disclosed by the record or report.

In the absence of prima facie evidence of death under subdivision (b) or (c), the fact of death may be established by clear and convincing evidence, including circumstantial evidence.

The fact of death may be established under the procedure prescribed in section 1208 to establish the death of an individual described in that section.

At the hearing upon the petition, the court upon its own motion may, or upon motion of an interested person shall, impanel a jury as provided by law. If it is established by a preponderance of the evidence presented at the hearing that an accident or disaster occurred in which the individual named in the petition was killed or may be presumed to have died, the court shall enter an order that establishes the location of the accident or disaster, the date of death, and, if possible, the time of death and that states that the individual is dead.

A certified copy of an order issued under this section is sufficient when presented to the medical examiner for the preparation of a certificate of death. The medical examiner shall forward the completed certificate of death to the state registrar. The state registrar shall register the death as provided in section 2845 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.2845. The state registrar shall forward a copy of the registered death record to the local registrar of the place where the death occurred as established under this section.

History: 1998, Act 386, Eff. Apr. 1, 2000