I am concerned, are you okay?

 

Fine thanks, just wondering after seeing all the stuff about 'possible WW3' in the news recently.

 

I very much hope this is a hypothetical question !

I would suspect it would be illegal to fake one's death and assume a new identity.

 

I'm not talking about changing names/identity or deliberately faking your death. Just if the situation arose where you realised someone you wanted to end contact with ASSUMED you were dead, because your house had been destroyed by flood, fire,WW3 whatever! ..is it actually illegal to let that specific person (and anyone who might tell them otherwise) believe you had died if they ALREADY THOUGHT THAT?

Not talking about changing name or not telling govt you had to move out or anything like that. They'd just check bank accounts anyway to see if they are still being used, but a general member of public can't just check someone's bank accounts can they? They might just see your house on news destroyed, no answer from you on phone, they think you must have been in it...is it illegal to let them think that if they aren't a member of Govt that needs to know for legal reason?

 

I wouldn't think you would be required to alert anyone of your status you didn't want to alert, if you are an adult. Whether they think you are dead or not isn't a legal issue, unless there were inheritance or life insurance policies or other monetary gain involved.

It is not illegal to change your name, at least, it isn't in the USA. In the US you can change your name but your social security number (government identification) and drivers license numbers should remain the same. You would contact those agencies to let them know your name has changed.

 

Thanks ...no inheritances or anything involved. As far as know its not illegal to change your name in the UK either, as long as its registered...deed poll or something? Though if they didn't know you'd changed your name they wouldn't know to look for a different one or which one to look for would they?

 

I would recommend you go to the government pages of whatever country or province or state you live in and look for laws regarding identity.

 

I can't see how it could be, if there is no intent to deceive the authorities or obtain something falsely. It might not be wise or kind though.

I do know/have known people who have disappeared from their previous lives, and in at least one case, the Salvation Army tracing service came back with a message that the person was alive but did not wish for further contact or for any other details to be given. I had the distinct impression that they had agreed to the family being told that they were alive but that they could have decided not to.

 

I can't see how it could be, if there is no intent to deceive the authorities or obtain something falsely. It might not be wise or kind though.

I do know/have known people who have disappeared from their previous lives, and in at least one case, the Salvation Army tracing service came back with a message that the person was alive but did not wish for further contact or for any other details to be given. I had the distinct impression that they had agreed to the family being told that they were alive but that they could have decided not to.

I didn't know the Salvation Army tracing Service existed I doubt it would be used, but they couldn't pass on any details without your permission could they, if a person didn't answer them?

 

In the UK adults go missing all the time, walking away from their current lives and not letting family and friends know what had become of them. Sometimes evidence indicates that they have taken their own lives, sometimes they have memory issues of some kind where they genuinely can't remember who they are and sometimes they want to just leave and set up a new life elsewhere. As long as you have done so of your own free will, don't try and defraud someone or commit some other criminal offence it isn't illegal to not let people know where you have gone.

Morally it is more complicated. People who have had someone just disappear with no idea as to what has happened can be extremely upset and devastated by such a loss so it isn't a kind thing to do to them. As stated above there are methods of letting the people you care about know you are safe and well even if the time isn't right to regain direct contact.

If the idea is to avoid a dangerous situation or harmful individuals then not providing new contact details is perhaps wise. Whether there was a need to have them think you had died too I suppose depends on the circumstances.

If this hypothetical question is based on any real life situation you may be experiencing then it would be a good idea to talk to someone who may be able to help eg. Samaritan's, the police or citizens advice or one of the domestic abuse helplines or victim support.

 

You are legally allowed to change your name in the UK via deedpoll and can use this free template to do so: https://freedeedpoll.org.uk This deedpoll can be used to change your name with a variety of Government and public organisations. You just need 1 or 2 witnesses to sign the deed to witness you have changed your name. If you are planning to disappear from your old life (legally) and don't want certain people knowing you would need 1 or 2 friends you absolutely trust who will not let the people you don't want to know what you are doing to not tell these people you have changed your name. Here in the UK your National Insurance number will remain the same and so will your NHS number and birth certificate but you can apply for a new passport and bank account in your new name but will have to disclose your old name as not to commit fraud. Also you will have to let HMRC and the DWP know you have changed your name and why so they can link your tax records and National Insurance Contributions to your new name.

If you are wanting to escape a family situation I would suggest taking yourself away from that situation and have a break so you can think things through before you do anything and don't let anyone know were you are or just let one friend you trust in know.

I would sort independent advice from Citizens Advice, Samaratians or another oranganisation if you are trying to escape from domestic violence or something like that.

People disappear every day to escape their current situation or for other reasons and never get found.

Just take into consideration disappearing or letting people think you are dead can upset people alot so you have to make sure this is what you want to do.

 

I’ve had 5 different names. I didn’t even know my real name until I needed my birth certificate for a passport. Anyone can call themselves anything they like and notify schools, banks, insurers etc to call them by their chosen name. If trying to escape a bad situation it’s often suggested not to use deed poll, so that there’s no paper trail to your current name. Of course the name on your birth certificate will stay the same and it’s illegal to do it with intention to defraud, but it’s pretty easy to change name tbh. If you want to do it officially then that is deed poll or marriage in England. It’s different for different parts of the U.K.

That would be a separate issue to wanting people to believe you’re dead I think. It wouldn’t be your problem if people assumed you’d died and moved on, unless they tried to claim on insurance or something.

 

If someone makes the assumption that you have died, you have no responsibility, legal or moral, to let them know you're alive.

You have no control over what another person believes.

 

Exactly. Why would you even know what they believe anyway? In the scenario being suggested there wouldn't be any contact and none sought so it's a non-issue.

 

There's no kids involved and no legal relationship to the person(ie marriage partner/relative) in this scenario and no intentional fraud planned. (on my end anyway). Thanks for all the advice.

 

That is what I meant - I had the impression that the person could have refused to allow the fact that they were alive to be passed on but chose to allow it. That was all the family got though, and it was a great relief.

 

I bet it was. For someone who doesn't want contact the Sally Army are probably masters at persuading them to at least allow that relief of knowing they're alive to a family.

And adding - may be obvious I have a very high opinion of them Every Christmas Eve my husband and I sit at our laptops and donate to them and the Samaritans. I feel both organisations seem so established they're sometimes a bit forgotten.

 

I'm not even sure they're allowed to pass that on without the agreement of the 'missing' individual unless it could be absolutely determined from information in the public domain. For example, with enough time and determination any one of us could say there's no death certificate (in the UK) for any given individual and from this presume they're still alive. We could go on to do the same sort of tracing the Sally Army undertake. The reason they're more often successful is because they're a third party and someone is more likely to be amenable to contact. I'd imagine they guarantee complete confidentiality at that point and only release any information if it's agreed. Their reputation wouldn't be so stellar if they did otherwise.

How would a member of public just search for someone else's death certificate? Regarding the Salvation Army if the person 'missing' refused to answer the Salvation army so they were never able to see the person or communicate with them, then surely they'd be unable to confirm to the other person whether they were alive or not?

In my hypothetical situation I was thinking more of a war/extreme circumstances situation where many people's bodies maybe missing eg nuclear war... bodies around ground zero would be vaporised, some maybe burned beyond recognition, others maybe 'radioactive' and maybe just left to decay or be destroyed in a specific way for safety reasons. causing huge problems with identification and people been able to find each other... so my question was really if someone decided to take advantage of the extreme situation and disappear, because they'd realised certain people in their lives already thought they were dead and took the chance to start a new life.

A friend was talking about worries of WW3 (as you do when you're 3 sheets to the wind!) and suddenly came out with 'if you had chance to disappear in that situation and start your life over again would you? I wasn't sure if it would be illegal to just disappear without telling anyone, even if you did tell govt depts/banks etc I felt you maybe could be done for wasting police time.

 

How would a member of public just search for someone else's death certificate?

Anyone can, I'm not sure what exactly you're asking because public records are exactly that - public.