Before we dwell into the topic, you must first understand what wrongful death claim is? Any fatal deaths caused by the carelessness of someone else will lead to a wrongful death claim. Wrongful death claims are usually for the deaths that happen from negligence like a car accident caused by another driver, or by a defective vehicle, or by a medical error.
There is an often asked question; “who will get the money in a wrongful death settlement?” The law regarding the distribution of wrongful death settlement is different in every American state. A good wrongful death lawyer can guide you through the settlement process and he can make sure that you will receive the financial compensation you are entitled to.
Who Will Get The Money?
The California wrongful death statutes stipulate that only the surviving spouse, registered domestic partner, dependent parents, children, and minors of the deceased are entitled to make the claim. Like many other states, in California also, all the relative and domestic partners of the deceased who are entitled for the compensation must bring the wrongful death case jointly. This legal requirement raises an important question of how the settlement amount is divided among the heirs.
In California, it is up to the family members and heirs filing the wrongful death claim to decide how they want to divide the settlement amount. In an ideal world, the claimants will decide to divide the amount equally among the heirs or allocate a larger amount of the settlement amount to the person who suffers most from the death. However, in cases where the family members couldn’t reach a decision on how the compensation amount should be divided, the court will be tasked with dividing the money after looking at the financial needs of each claimant.
During the trial the jury will assess the damage and losses caused by the death to each of the claimant and try to distribute the amount as fairly as possible. If the insurance policy of the decedent is limited, then the funds will be allocated in proportion to the compensation amount. It is very important to speak with a reputed lawyer to determine the best strategy if there is no agreement as to the proportional share of the settlement.
There are a lot of reputed attorneys and law firms in Los Angeles that specialize in wrongful death cases. Filing a wrongful death claim may not help you to ease the emotional pain, but the financial justice can reduce your stress.