It's no joke for some.

It was some time ago that I read about it, and I'm struggling to find a source now, but there are instances in India of people being declared dead to allow their next of kin to steal their land. In doing so, the 'dead' unsurprisingly lose access to various public resources, health care, etc.

Edit: found a reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uttar_Pradesh_Association_of_D...