(The Center Square) – Alena’s Law would create an exemption from the seven-year requirement when a person has likely died in an area hit by a natural disaster.
Among final actions Thursday before the Easter break, the legislation passed the House of Representatives 111-0 and awaits consideration in the Senate. Lawmakers departed Raleigh for an Easter break last week and no sessions are scheduled this week.
The General Assembly resumes next week. Crossover deadline is May 8.
Alena’s Law, known also as House Bill 537, would enable families with missing relatives who likely died in a natural disaster to be able to obtain a declaration of death without waiting seven years, as is current law.
The proposal is named for Alena Ayers of Mitchell County. She and her husband, Stephen, were swept away in the floodwaters after Hurricane Helene. Stephen’s body was later recovered downstream in Tennessee, but Alena’s has not.
In a committee hearing earlier this month, Rep. Dudley Greene, R-Avery, said five people remain listed as missing from the storm.
Estate settlements, child custody and insurance claims are among the issues bill sponsors hope the legislation helps.
The bill reads in part, “The disappearance and continued absence for at least 90 days of a person that coincides with a disaster declaration, or a federally declared disaster, shall create a rebuttable presumption of the death of a person.”
