legal death
Certified life's end
Legal death is the point at which a person is officially declared dead under law, triggering consequences like inheritance, insurance payouts, and the end of marriage.
The determination typically requires either irreversible cessation of heartbeat and breathing or irreversible loss of all brain function.
He was pronounced legally dead at 3:47 AM.
A person missing for years may also be declared legally dead without a body.
- pronouncementFormal authoritative statement
- coronerPublic death investigator
- morgueCorpse holding facility
- flatlineShow no heartbeat
- autopsyMedical examination after death
next of kin · deceased · do not resuscitate · pull the plug · cadaver · rigor mortis · vital signs · ventilator · organ donation · living will · life support · pulse · cardiac arrest · cessation · irreversible · medical examiner · body bag · funeral home
legal, death, legally, legality, illegal, illegally, legalize, legalization, legalese