{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-422.132","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 422.132","heading":"Presumption of death following catastrophic event -- Declaration -- Death","body":"certificate -- Attorney General.\n(1) A resident or nonresident of this Commonwealth who is exposed to a specific event\nwhich has been declared a disaster or emergency pursuant t o KRS Chapter 39A and\nwhich is certified by the Governor as a catastrophic event that has resulted in the\nloss of life to persons known or unknown and whose absence following that event is\nnot satisfactorily explained after diligent search or inquiry is pr esumed to be dead.\nThe death is presumed to have occurred at the time of the catastrophic event.\n(2) A District Court may declare the absent person dead, if it is satisfied that the\nabsentee should be presumed dead under the provisions of subsection (1) of  this\nsection. A declaration with respect to a nonresident shall affect only property\nlocated within the Commonwealth.\n(3) At the request of an applicant who has obtained a declaration based upon subsection\n(1) of this section, the court shall order the re gistrar of vital statistics to issue, at no\ncost to the applicant, a death certificate. The state registrar may indicate on the\ncertificate that it was issued to court order in accordance with this section.\n(4) The Attorney General may initiate or intervene in any proceedings or action brought\npursuant to this section, including a class action law suit, on behalf of the citizens of\nthe Commonwealth to seek a declaration of death of an absentee under subsection\n(1) of this section.","path":["KRS Chapter 422"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=18120","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:59:39Z","sha256":"62cc3e3fd82d7565afded588115bef0dbce0296cba51e1b88e9a8c5723e07b2b","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-422.130","next":"us-ky/krs-422.135"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}