wills succession
What happens if a person is thought to be dead and their estate is administered, and then they turn up alive?
<p>Suppose a person disappears and is thought to have died (e.g. massive fireball plane crash, 'nobody could have survived that') and so their estate was administered. </p>

<p>And then, after their property has gone to some beneficiaries and maybe on-sold or distributed to the beneficiaries of the estates of beneficiaries who have died, etc, the person turns up alive, e.g. parachuted at the last minute while everyone was distracted by something else.</p>

<p>What happens to the property that was dealt with through the person's estate? Is it all clawed back?</p>

<p>The jurisdiction is Victoria, Australia.</p>

<p><a href="https://missingpersons.gov.au/sites/default/files/PDF%20-%20Publications/Financial%20Affairs/SAFE%20KEEPING_FINAL.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">This</a> is a pretty detailed summary of the legal issues around missing persons. The relevant info is on p.8:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Where a grant of representation is made on the
  presumption of death, the personal representative
  must get permission from the Court before they can
  distribute the missing person’s estate. The Court
  may place conditions on the grant. For example,
  it may set a limit on how much of the property
  can be distributed, or it may make the personal
  representative agree to give back any money or
  property they receive from the estate if the Court
  later revokes (cancels) the grant. If a grant is made on
  the presumption of death and the missing person is
  later found to be living, the grant may be revoked by
  the Court. If this happens, <strong>people who have received
  property from the estate will not have to give it back,
  provided the personal representative has acted ‘in
  good faith’</strong> (that is, they have acted according to the
  law and distributed the estate in the honest belief
  that the missing person has died). These provisions
  exist to protect the interests of the missing person. </p>
</blockquote>
