New York Laws
Part 1 - Substantive Rules Governing Dispositions
2-1.7 - Presumption of Death From Absence; Effect of Exposure to Specific Peril.

(a) A person who is absent for a continuous period of three years,
during which, after diligent search, he or she has not been seen or
heard of or from, and whose absence is not satisfactorily explained
shall be presumed, in any action or proceeding involving any property of
such person, contractual or property rights contingent upon his or her
death or the administration of his or her estate, to have died three
years after the date such unexplained absence commenced, or on such
earlier date as clear and convincing evidence establishes is the most
probable date of death.
(b) The fact that such person was exposed to a specific peril of death
may be a sufficient basis for determining at any time after such
exposure that he or she died less than three years after the date his or
her absence commenced.
(c) The three-year period provided herein shall not apply in any case
in which a different period has been prescribed by statute.

Structure New York Laws