Middletown — A local probate judge is preparing to declare Nathan Carman's mother dead just months after he died by suicide in jail while awaiting a federal trial for her murder.

Linda Carman was last seen on Sept. 17, 2016, according to documents filed with Middletown Probate Court regarding her estate. But since her body has never been found, the former Middletown resident could not be declared dead until seven years had elapsed, according to state law. She was 54 when she disappeared at sea.

Nathan Carman, 29, who died by suicide in June, was accused of killing his mother while on a fishing trip off Block Island in his boat The Chicken Pox in 2016. Last year, he was charged with first-degree murder in her death and multiple counts of fraud.

Federal prosecutors said Carman killed his mother after depleting a $550,000 inheritance he received from the death of his grandfather, John Chakalos. Prosecutors alleged Carman shot and killed his wealthy grandfather at his Windsor home in 2013, but he was never charged with the homicide.

Chakalos' estate is worth at least $42 million and was expected to be disbursed to his four daughters, including Linda Carman, but his family has left his estate untouched for years to prevent Nathan Carman from receiving his mother's share, according to court documents.

Since Linda Carman will be declared dead on the seven-year anniversary of her disappearance, Nathan Carman will have pre-deceased her, Middletown Probate Judge Joseph Marino said.

"After seven years, there is a presumption of death," said Marino, who will hold a hearing in October before he declares Linda Carman dead.

Her date of death will be seven years after the day she disappeared, Marino said. Nathan Carman died by suicide in June while being held without bond. His trial on the federal murder charge was set to start in October.

After she is declared dead, Linda Carman's estate will proceed as any other estate, dispersing funds according to her wishes, Marino said.

It is unclear what impact the declaration of her death will have on her father's estate, which also still hasn't been dispersed.

Nathan Carman's three aunts filed a lawsuit in New Hampshire in 2017, asking that he be prohibited from collecting part of a $43 million inheritance left behind by Chakalos. The women argued that Nathan Carman was responsible for the death of their father and should be blocked from any bequest under the so-called "slayer rule." The lawsuit did not explicitly accuse Nathan Carman of killing his mother, but does allege he "left his mother behind" on the sinking boat.

The lawsuit was thrown out when a New Hampshire judge ruled that Chakalos was a resident of Connecticut.

Nathan Carman had been the subject of an investigation by state and federal authorities for years in the disappearance of his mother after he claimed he didn't see her following a boating accident that left him adrift at sea. After eight days, he was rescued off the coast of Massachusetts by a passing freighter. His mother was never found.