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        ARS Title 14 (Sep 2026)
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6024 E 32nd St
Yuma, AZ 85365
(928) 783-4575
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14-1107

Determination of death and status; rules

General Provisions

In addition to the rules of evidence in courts of general jurisdiction, the following rules relating to a determination of death and status apply:

1. A determination of death must be made in accordance with accepted medical standards.

2. 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 fact, place, date and time of death and the identity of the decedent.

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

4. In the absence of prima facie evidence of death under paragraph 2 or 3, the fact of death may be established by clear and convincing evidence, including circumstantial evidence.

5. A person whose death is not established under paragraphs 1 through 4, who is absent for a continuous period of five years, during which time that person has not been heard from, and whose absence is not satisfactorily explained after diligent search or inquiry is presumed to be dead. That person's death is presumed to have occurred at the end of the period unless there is sufficient evidence for determining that death occurred earlier.

Last verified against the Arizona Legislature:
September 15, 2026
Official Arizona Legislature Source
Deason Garner & Sparks
(928) 783-45756024 E 32nd St
Yuma, AZ 85365
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