Death in absentia

"Apollo Justice"

- Yeah, it's called "death in absentia." He's declared missing... permanently.

Death in absentia is a term that refers to a time limit for missing persons to be found or return before they are considered "legally deceased" and lose all their rights as a living person, including all of their possessions.

Kurain Village
"Morgan Fey"

- A person who has been away from the village for over twenty years is considered dead...

Kurain Village has a version of the Death in absentia law. Whenever anyone has been away from Kurain Village for twenty years, they are considered dead by Kurain standards, and lose all their rights as a citizen of Kurain Village. If the missing person happens to be the Master of the Kurain Tradition, once she's declared legally deceased, a new Master is appointed to the village. So far, the only known person this version has affected was Misty Fey.

Legal System
"Phoenix Wright"

- ...There's a law that covers your situation. After seven years, missing persons are considered to be legally "deceased". So if someone was to vanish from the face of the earth seven years ago... ...they would lose all their rights as a "living person" after seven years from that day. Not to mention all of their possessions.

The Legal System has a version of the death in absentia law. The time limit imposed by the law is seven years. After the seven year period expires, the person is declared legally deceased, and all possessions and rights as a living person are lost. The only person this has affected so far is Zak Gramarye, which is why he risked coming out of hiding to legitimize a will passing on the rights to the Gramarye Magic, which he had received from Magnifi Gramarye, to his daughter, Trucy.

Real Life
In most common law jurisdictions, after a seven year period, an individual is presumed to be dead if there is no evidence to the contrary.