Who Has the Rights to the Proceeds From a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

Who has the rights to the proceeds from a wrongful death lawsuit?

Tennessee law provides that wrongful death recoveries are distributed to the decedent's family. Now who is family and who isn't family can get a little complicated.

Let me give you the most common example. If he person who is killed as the result of the negligence of another, leaves only a spouse and no children, that spouse gets 100% of the money. If the decedent leaves a spouse and one child, the surviving spouse and the child divide the money equally.

If the decedent leaves a surviving spouse and two children, the money is divided one third, one third, one third.

If the decedent leaves a surviving spouse and three children, the surviving spouse gets one third and the other three children divide the two thirds equally. And so on..

The surviving spouse never gets less than one third. Now it can get much more complicated than this if there is no surviving spouse, no children. Or if there are no parents that survive.

There are all sorts of scenarios. At The Law Offices of John Day, P.C. we've been representing the families of wrongful death victims for more than 30 years. We'd be happy to sit down and talk with you about your potential case.

There is no charge for this serious. And if we are able to help you, we will accept representation of you on a no recovery, no fee basis.

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