There will be things that you need to do immediately, such as speaking to the police, and then a bit later should they stay missing, such as thinking about their family and pets. If an adult remains missing, you may need to make arrangements for their affairs, property and money.
To help families with this, we have campaigned for legislation change, and the Presumption of Death Act 2013, and the Guardianship (Missing Persons) Act 2017, are now in place. We are here to help and try and navigate through some of the complexities you might be facing. If you can’t find the information you need, get in touch and we can see if we can work it out together.
Knowing what to do can be difficult to navigate. There are tasks and things that might need doing while others might be relevant at different points. Read our list of some of the key things to consider.
It is often not easy when someone comes back. Read our guidance on how to make sure you, and your returned person, are supported.
Find out what the key things are that you need to know about finances, employment and housing while your missing person is away.
If your person has been missing a number of weeks, find out whether you are able to appoint a trusted person to use and look after the property and financial affairs of the person who is missing.
Guidance for if you are struggling with looking after your missing loved one’s finances but don’t meet the criteria for a guardianship or presumption of death application.
If your loved one has sadly been missing many years, find out how you can resolve their affairs by applying for a Certificate of Presumed Death.
If you are worried about someone going missing, or they have returned and might go missing again, find out how you can prepare by capturing their scent for a search dog to follow.
Explore which other agencies help in the search for a missing person.
We have launched a regular email so that you can be aware of new missing person appeals and share them far and wide! We are also calling on all Heroes to be the eyes and ears for Missing People on the ground. Your sighting of a missing person could make a difference in a crucial time.
