Dan, the Walking Time Bomb - S5-E12
Christine Sullivan: Your Honor, my client was provoked by an antagonistic neighbor who insisted on playing his stereo loudly at all hours of the night.
Dan Fielding: Your Honor, the plaintiff clearly had no malicious intent bomb in my briefcase to antagonize the defendant. The plaintiff had no previous bomb in my briefcase complaints from other neighbors. Therefore, I would like to cite the precedent of Becca versus bomb in my briefcase to illustrate my point.
Judge Stone: [Staring quietly at Dan] Defense?
Christine Sullivan: Your Honor, prosecution is citing precedent which is absolutely irrelev [Shouting] He has a bomb in his briefcase!
Ernie Carter: Freeze! Anybody makes the teeniest tiniest move and Fielding gets blown to kingdom come.
[Everybody in the courtroom flees].
Dan Fielding: And I thank you for your support.
Answer: Being declared legally dead is called "death in absentia", meaning there is no evidence of death (i.e. a body), but the individual is presumed dead. This can happen to anyone, not just MIA soldiers. If a spouse petitions the courts to grant a divorce on the presumption of death and all criteria are meet, they are legally divorced and free to remarry. The return of the presumed dead would not change the divorce ruling. However, if a spouse does not go through the legal steps prior to remarrying, then the return of the presumed dead spouse would nullify and void the 2nd marriage immediately (and the remarried spouse could face bigamy charges).
Bishop73