Who Gets the Money in a Wrongful Death Settlement?

Rohan Mathew

Updated on:

 

Wrongful death suits can be so trying and difficult for those that are involved. A wrongful death is not something that anyone wants to have to deal with but with the help of a skilled and experienced wrongful death lawyer, you can work on a settlement to help with costs.

What is a Wrongful Death Suit?

It is helpful before you start worrying about who is going to get settlement money, to figure out what a wrongful death suit really is. A wrongful death suit is a lawsuit that occurs when the family or dependents of a person that passed away as the result of the negligence of another person decides to sue. A wrongful death is deemed any death that was the result of the negligence or even the inability of someone else to prevent death.

This means that if someone was killed or died at the result of something that another person did, or did not do in some cases, the family that is left behind might be entitled to a wrongful death suit. These suits are necessary to help protect the people that are left behind after the death and those that were directly affected by the death of the individual.

Who Gets the Money in a Wrongful Death Suit?

The person that files the suit is not necessarily the person that is going to get the money. In some cases, these suits can be filed on behalf of the dependents of the person who has passed, on behalf of the family and on behalf of those that were immediately affected by the death. Not just anyone can file a wrongful death suit. The person has to have a vested interest in the welfare of the person that has passed before they can file a wrongful death suit.

This is put in place to prevent people that did not know the person or that were not affected by the death from filing a suit that they have no business filing. It is also to protect the people that were affected from being exploited. Wrongful death money is going to first go to dependents if there are any, this means children. Then, the money might go to a spouse to help care for children and to help pay for bills and other issues.

You might also get money if you are a family member like a parent, a sibling, an aunt or uncle and so on. People that are not related to the person that passed or that are not married to the person are not likely to be able to file a suit. These suits are meant to help those that are directly affected by the death to keep on living and to keep going after the death.

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What can Wrongful Death Money Be Used For?

This money can be used for a huge range of things like funeral costs, end of life costs, paying for time off work, paying bills to keep the house going and even setting up trust funds for the children of those passed. The money can be used for just about anything and is meant to help ease the burden following the death of the person in question.

There is really no limit or restrictions on what this money can be used for. The only thing that might affect the money and how it is spent is if a trust fund is set up for specific people. If the money has been set up for children and is in a trust, the money cannot be used unless the conditions of the trust are met.

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When to Hire a Lawyer?

When it comes to a wrongful death suit, it is always a good idea to get a lawyer involved, right from the start. By hiring an attorney you are going to take some of the stress and some of the worry away from the family that is left. A lawyer is going to be able to help you collect the information that is needed to make a great case and they are also going to act as a go between for the other lawyers and you so that you can rest and focus on recovering.

It is so difficult to handle a death, especially one that could have been prevented, and a lawyer can help you to figure out where to go next and how to move on with life. A wrongful death suit can help you find the money that you need to bury your family member that has passed, they can help you to pay your bills and help you handle the death. Wrongful death suits can be hard to handle but a great attorney can help make the process a bit easier to deal with.