Application for leave to swear to death meaning

In probate practice, an application for leave to swear to death is a request to the court or probate registry for permission to file an affidavit stating that a person is dead so that a grant of probate or letters of administration (or, in Scotland, confirmation) can issue where no death certificate is available. The term is a practice description rather than a defined statutory label. It is used most commonly in Ireland and Northern Ireland under probate rules, where the Probate Officer or Master (Probate) may grant leave on affidavit evidence of death or disappearance, supported by corroborating material (for example, police or coroner reports) and proof of searches of death registers. In England and Wales, and in Scotland, practitioners more often obtain a declaration of presumed death (Presumption of Death Act 2013; Presumption of Death (Scotland) Act 1977), or rely on a coroner’s certificate where available; the phrase “leave to swear to death” is less commonly used. The application is typically made where the body has not been recovered (for example, at sea, air accidents or disasters) and is intended to enable estate administration in the absence of formal registration of death, while ensuring the court is satisfied as to...