Hiiumaa man turns up after declared dead in absentia decade ago
A 62-year-old man from the island of Hiiumaa has returned home after going missing 18 years ago, and being legally declared dead 10 years ago by the courts.
The family of the man, named as Ülo, have taken the case lightly, with daughter Jane Kasari saying his father has "a lot of explaining to do," such as why he decided to take out the trash all the way to Belarus.
Kasari told Delfi she knew he was alive, working in the other Baltic states, in Belarus and Ukraine, but had no contact with him.
Kasari said her mother, who is yet to speak to her former husband, had him declared dead for legal purposes, so she could privatize some land.
Ülo said he returned as he began to feel old and needed health insurance. The Estonian courts have to overturn the previous ruling concerning him first, something Eva Strang, the head of the Chamber of Notaries in Estonia, said was an unheard-of precedent for Estonia.
Editor: J.M. Laats