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PA intestate succession

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kdk96n98`

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania
when a spouse dies and has minor children with current wife and adult children with previous marriage, how are wrongful death and survival action settlements distributed. please tell me the minor children would get more seeing as they lost out more on the parent dying. the adult children are already married and have families of their own. do the adult children have to show a dependency on the decease parent in order to receive any inheritance from any money recovered from the lawsuit.
 


LdiJ

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania
when a spouse dies and has minor children with current wife and adult children with previous marriage, how are wrongful death and survival action settlements distributed. please tell me the minor children would get more seeing as they lost out more on the parent dying. the adult children are already married and have families of their own. do the adult children have to show a dependency on the decease parent in order to receive any inheritance from any money recovered from the lawsuit.
Current wife would file a lawsuit on behalf of her children. The adult children would have to file their own lawsuit.

Inheritances are a different story. The current wife would claim the wife's intestate share and the rest would be divided between all of the children equally.

Don't forget that the minor children will receive social security benefits as well.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
That doesn't sound right. How could there be more than one lawsuit for the same death?
Different parties with valid claims. A judge would likely hear them together, or the parties could join up and file together, but current wife has no obligation to file for anyone other than her minor children.
 

CLJM

Member
I believe it is the Personal Representative of the estate that is charged with bringing forth the two available actions: a wrongful death action (belonging to and compensating the beneficiaries; either through testate or intestate; not subject to PA inheritance tax.) and a survival action (belonging to and compensating the decedent's estate and subject to the PA inheritance tax. ).

The right to maintain an action for wrongful death should not be confused with the right to share in the distribution. The right to share in the distribution is not determinative of the right to bring the action.

"Wrongful Death" is a difficult undertaking---best served by the parties being UNITED.
 
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