The parents of Nathalie Geijsbregts, who disappeared without a trace 33 years ago, have submitted an official request to have their daughter declared absent. They do this to protect their son from complicated inheritance procedures in the event that one of them were to die, father Eric explains to ‘De Standaard’.
On February 26, 1991, 10-year-old Nathalie Geijsbregts from Leefdaal in Flemish Brabant was dropped off by her parents at a bus stop on the way to school. But she never gets there. A witness reportedly saw the girl at that location, in a gray Toyota, driven by a man of about 50 years old. But despite intensive detective work and several suspects, the girl’s disappearance has still not been solved.
Yesterday a striking message appeared in the Mediahuis newspapers. It was the official announcement of a request to the Antwerp family court, submitted by Eric Geijsbregts, to have his daughter Nathalie officially declared absent. The announcement of the request is a first step in a long legal procedure, in which the judge can only declare absence after one year at the earliest, which has the same legal consequences as a death. This means, among other things, that the person’s inheritance is released.
Administrative hassle
“As long as Nathalie is not declared absent, she remains an heiress. If my ex-wife or I were to die today, part of the inheritance would be blocked and a whole procedure would have to be initiated. Now that we are getting older, we want to protect our son Bjorn from that administrative hassle,” father Geijsbregts explains in ‘De Standaard’.
A declaration of absence is a highly exceptional legal procedure, which can be reversed if the missing person reappears. “The chance that Nathalie is no longer there is 99.9 percent,” her father also knows. “But as long as no body is found, I will never be able to say that with 100 percent certainty. That is why a declaration of absence feels different from a declaration of death.”
WATCH ALSO. In October last year, the search for Nathalie was renewed after a new tip
READ ALSO. “As the hours pass, you think ‘Would it have happened after all?’”: parents of missing Nathalie Geijsbregts about new search after 33 years(+)
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Tags: Father Nathalie Geijsbregts asks court declare daughter absent years disappearance Avoiding administrative hassle Domestic
