Chapter on the Inheritance of a Missing Person

When a person’s whereabouts are unknown because he was taken captive, or because he set out on a journey in which safety is the norm—such as a trading expedition—his estate is left untouched until ninety full years have passed from the day of his birth.

If, however, the likelihood is that he has perished—such as someone who was aboard a boat that sank while some passengers survived, who vanished from among his family, or who was lost in a deadly desert¹—one waits four complete years from the date of his disappearance² and then distributes his property in either case.

Should an individual from whom the missing man would inherit die during the waiting period, the entire estate is provisionally set aside for the missing person out of certainty, while whatever remains is held in abeyance. If he later returns, he receives his allotted share; if he does not return, the suspended portion is treated like the rest of his property. The remaining heirs may agree among themselves concerning anything that exceeds the missing person’s entitlement and divide it accordingly.