Establishing the Fact of Death Through Court in Ukraine

Establishing the fact of death is a legal procedure carried out through court proceedings when no death certificate exists, but there are sufficient grounds to conclude that a person has died. Such situations commonly arise during wartime, when a person dies in territories outside the control of Ukraine or abroad, goes missing, or under other circumstances that make the ordinary registration of death impossible. How can the fact of death be established through the courts? When is it necessary to apply to the court? How can a person's death be proven without a death certificate? Let us examine these issues in more detail.

Ukrainian legislation provides several situations in which it is necessary to establish the fact of death through court proceedings:

1. A person disappeared as a result of hostilities, a natural disaster, or a catastrophe.
2. The person died abroad, but no foreign death certificate exists, or the available foreign documents cannot be legally recognized in Ukraine.
3. The person's body has not been found, but there is sufficient evidence confirming the person's death.
4. The Civil Status Registration Authority (DRACS) refuses to issue a death certificate because supporting documents are unavailable.
5. The death of an internally displaced person (IDP) cannot be confirmed by the required official documents.

What documents are required to establish the fact of death? To file an application with the court, the applicant should prepare:

1. A written court application requesting the establishment of the fact of death.
2. The applicant's identification documents, including a passport, taxpayer identification number, and documents confirming the family relationship with the deceased (birth certificate, marriage certificate, etc.).
3. Evidence confirming the death, such as a foreign death certificate or a certificate issued in a temporarily occupied territory, a medical death certificate, certificates from military units, police authorities or local administrations, witness statements, official military investigation reports, or other relevant evidence.

How does the court procedure for establishing the fact of death work?

1. The application may be filed with any local court in Ukraine, regardless of the applicant's place of residence.
2. The court opens the proceedings and schedules a hearing.
3. The court examines the evidence and, where necessary, hears witness testimony.
4. After considering the case, the court issues a decision establishing the fact of death.
5. The court decision serves as the legal basis for registering the death with the Civil Status Registration Authority and obtaining an official Ukrainian death certificate.

Our law firm provides comprehensive legal assistance in court proceedings for establishing the fact of death. Our services include:

• initial legal consultation;
• collection of all necessary evidence and supporting documents;
• preparation and filing of the court application;
• representation of your interests throughout the court proceedings;
• obtaining the final court decision establishing the fact of death;
• assistance with obtaining the official death certificate.

We have extensive experience handling cases involving the establishment of the fact of death in temporarily occupied territories, abroad, and in other complex situations, as well as proceedings for declaring a person deceased. Our lawyers have successfully represented clients in cases involving deaths without the recovery of a body, establishing death without a death certificate, deaths resulting from the war, deaths of internally displaced persons, and cases involving missing persons.

It is important to distinguish between establishing the fact of death and declaring a person deceased. These are two different legal procedures. Establishing the fact of death confirms that the person has actually died, although the death has not been officially registered. In such cases, convincing evidence proving the person's death already exists.

Declaring a person deceased is a different legal procedure used when a person has been missing for a legally prescribed period (generally from six months to three years), and there are reasonable grounds to believe that the person is no longer alive. In these cases, there is no direct evidence of death, but the available circumstances and documents justify such a legal presumption.

Below are several examples from our court practice involving the establishment of the fact of death.

1. Decision of the Ordzhonikidze District Court of Kharkiv dated November 26, 2020, Case No. 644/8742/20, in which the court established the fact of death of a person who died in a temporarily occupied territory.
2. Decision of the Liubotyn City Court of Kharkiv Region dated June 12, 2025, Case No. 630/370/25, in which the court established the death of a military service member killed in a combat zone.