Wrongful Death Laws & Advice

[therex10]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? PA

We filed a wrongful death lawsuit for my father in law & just won a sizable amount-90% wrongful death, 10% pain & suffering. The lawyers who we filed with told my husband at the time since we didn't name his sister on the suit- she couldn't touch it but she could file her own and it was in his name only plus he became the administrator of the estate since she didn't want to have anything to do with it. His sister also signed off in handwritten form at the time right after the death in front of another lawyer because she was afraid she would get stuck paying some of his bills & funeral expenses.This has been 4 years.

We now found out that my sister in law may be entitled to 1/2 of this amount (wants to sue us) in spite of the fact that we did not name her on the suit because she is a gambler-basically incompetent (she is almost 50 & spent 67,000 in 4 months of her own lawsuit, goes to BINGO 12 times a month-spends $700 a month on it)-she refused to help us 4 yrs ago when he died - pay for ANY of the estate or associated funeral or bills & costs-including refused to help us clean out the house-didn't even buy him funeral flowers, has not been to his grave, barely saw him & had nothing to do with him when he was alive. She does not pay her bills (her 73 year old mother does).

In addition-she is on Social security & hasn't worked a day in her life. We had to take off work, lost tons of money to clean out the house (took us 6 months for a 15 room house) & did not get the life insurance (ex wife did due to the divorce) so we paid for everything. On the other hand-my husband constantly saw his dad, our son was 12 when he died & did not get to go hunting & fishing with him like intended,etc.

This suit was supposedly for loss of companionship which my sister in law lost nothing whatsoever because she didn't see him & never called him. My husband saw him weekly & spoke with him at least as much. My husband filed this on his own with the attorneys, did all the paperwork, saw his doctors & got written verification, spoke with drug reps, went to court for him, filed his taxes, found the meds in the house, etc- basically did all the work for the suit & everything. Now that there is money involved she wants to make it sound like her & her dad were best friends. She has also stated- too bad tough luck you paid for the funeral & bills, cleaned the house, etc-I'm not paying any of it or his bills or the lawyers- I don't have to and I am entitled to 1/2 the money since I am owed it as firstborn & I'm getting it.

I should let you know that he died without a will, my husband is the administrator of the estate & she came to the house & took everything she wanted at the time. He left no money & had nothing substantial of value.

Can we do anything about this? Right now a lawyer is holding the money in his account as we are not agreeing to give her 1/2 when she basically disowned & denied him & did nothing personally, financially, or with the funeral. We told the lawyer to send the money back as we would rather have nothing if she is getting 1/2 for all the work & finances we have done.

The lawyer is basically on her side & says for us to 'hold off getting another specialist lawyer to fight this" We think something is going on & there may be a loophole somewhere for situations such as ours and he doesn't want us to know. What can we do? Can we fight this & if so can we win? We can prove what we have paid with receipts & that she had nothing to do with him. Thanks for any help or advice you can give!What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[goddessoflubboc]

You need to do some editing. Most people will give up and never get to the end. Things like the fact that your sil is disabled - a shame but irrelevant.

You did say your sil went through 67k of her own settlement. Was this from the same wrongful death action?

What did your sister "sign off on" at the lawyer's office?

The final bills are generally paid when the estate is settled - sounds like there was a house to sell so proceeds from there should pay them. What happened with the estate?

Why is youhusband's atty still holding the money? Doesn't he know (or can't he find out) the answers to these questions? If not, why not?

Was the settlement check made out to your husband (John Doe) and not the estate (Estate of John Doe's father)?
And finally, why isn't your husband here? It's his case and his money.

 

[ecmst12]

She may be entitled simply because she was the same relation to the deceased as your husband (child). Husband needs to follow the lawyer's advice.

 

[cyjeff]

If the suit awards the estate, this could be a problem.

 

[therex10]

wrongful death & advice

There was no house- it went to sherriff sale, estate was settled 3 years ago- there was nothin of value at all. Husband went to court for all that. We were stuck paying some household bills-garbage, cable, probate attorney, funeral, etc.

Sister spent $67,000 in 4 months of her own suit for a car accident- had nothing to do with this suit.

Husband works all the time- I am free so trying to find info.

Lawyer won't tell us nothing or do anything. We are looking for another right now who will look out for our interests-but not sure if we need to get estate or wrongful death attorney. Our attorney has the check right now & won't release it to us unless we agree to give her 1/2 without her paying for any of the bills which we believe wrong for her to profit from his death since they had nothing to do with each other as well as her refusal to pay anything at all.

I actually believe it is more her lawyer though since he is not working for us & he met her 'without' us behind our backs - which seemed strange to me. He threatened to send the check back if we didn't sign so we said go ahead- when we said that - he changed his tune real fast & that is why we think something is up. He is trying to hurry up & get us to sign this 'deal'. Then he said- we can work this out- I'm not sending the check back??? First he threatened to send the check back- then didn't want to when we agreed???

Settlement check is made out to this attorney (although he wasn't in charge of the original estate when we settled it) and states as the estate of husband's father attorney but then there is a letter addressed to my husband that states he is in charge of the money as administrator and is to decide how it is disbursed as well as must take care of any legal matters including taxes may have to be paid on it for some reason. The lawyers who won for us stated we had to get an attorney who would take care of the taxes & go to court for us but I thought settlements were exempt from this so we had to hurry and get one. Apparently - we chose the wrong one.

Sister signed off on a paper during estate & probate so she wouldn't get stuck paying all the funeral, etc bills like we did because she didn't want to have anything to do with him. We don't have a copy of what it says exactly & have been trying to get a copy of it for our records just to see exactly what it states.

We don't understand how she may be entitled when she had nothing to do with him, refused to pay for anything & it was supposedly for loss of companionship - which she never had with him since she didn't see or call him.

That's just it- we think if we sign the paperwork the lawyer is trying to get us to do - then that deems the money to go to the estate. If we don't sign- it won't go to the estate and he keeps trying to get us to sign real fast so we are unsure what to do. Would it be bettter to allow it to go into the estate or not with his sister trying to get out of paying for anything but wanting the money? She wants the money but doesn't want to pay for anything at all- says it is not "fair"- that we should have to pay for everything since we filed the suit??

The attorneys who won the suit for us stated she had no claim to it since we didn't put her name on it and that is why we didn't put her name on it- we knew she would try to get it. She has a gambling problem & will spend it all-fast. They stated she could file her own suit since she knew about it. If she did- then the 2 suits would be put together.

 

[las365]

Your situation is too complicated for people on a free legal advice message board to adequately address.

But to help break it down, provide some additional information:

Exactly how is the settlement agreement worded relative to the recipient of the settlement funds? Not the check, the settlement agreement. How did your husband sign - as the Admnistrator of the Estate or as an individual or both? Per the settlement agreement (not the check) is the settlement payable to your deceased FIL's Estate?

Were your FIL and MIL divorced?

How much is the settlement?

 

[therex10]

Wrongful death & advice

The original paperwork that my husband signed states his name on it as an individual.

 

[las365]

What do you mean by "original paperwork"?

 

[therex10]

Wrongful Death & Advice

The original suit- the very beginning where he signed for the lawsuit- he signed as his name as an individual. FIL & MIL were divorced 25 years ago. He remarried for 10 years then divorced again in 1996. At his time of death 4 years ago, he was living with a girlfriend he supported who ended up dying 6 months after him. She took his car & it went to her kids but the lawyer stated to us a $3000 car wasn't worth fighting it out for in court.

I realize this is complicated - that's why we are trying to find another attorney. The lawyers for the lawsuit stated we had to get an attorney to go to court to determine taxes, etc so we had to hurry up & get someone- apparently we chose the wrong ones as none are telling us anything. His sister signed off to be administrator- so she wouldn't be stuck paying any bills like us. We don't know what all she signed or what it said- we are trying to get a copy of it.

Settlement agreement is 3 pages long-is addressed to my husband & his dad's estate (which was closed 3 years ago) Inside it states my husband is in charge of the distributions as well as legal work, taxes, etc.
Husband signed as an individual at the very beginning of the suit as we did not want his sister (who is a big time gambler & BINGO player) getting her hands on it & they told us she could file her own suit but she chose not to since she didn't want to do all the paperwork.

My FIL died of a medical error (they lied & were caught)- my husband got the doctor to finally admit (in writing) what had happened plus we found all the prescriptions in the house- tore it apart-We were awarded almost 1/2 a million dollars (the 3rd highest) before lawyers, medical fees, depositions, paperwork, liens, etc were paid. After all said & done - we are left with $290,000.

 

[goddessoflubboc]

Settlement

The original paperwork that my husband signed states his name on it as an individual.

You have to answer the question asked. What name/names was the SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT made out in?

Also, as administrator of his father's estate, your husband doesn't have carte blanche to do as he sees fit with the money. He must handle it according to law.

I feel like some of this is slanted just a teensy weensy bit.

Your sil did in fact lose her father in the very same way your husband did. Regardless of what you or your husband thinks of the relationship she had with him. Your commentary about the sil spending her settlement from a car accident was completely gratuitous, as if somehow the world should say gosh, you are so much more responsible she doesn't deserve a dime. Doesn't work that way.

And your prior statement that you would rather give back the settlement check than see his sister get any is just mind-boggling. I think it would be a first. And IN MY OPINION, it makes you the most foolish, vindictive people on the planet.

 

[therex10]

Wrongful death & advice

Not really- first you need to see & understand how vindictive the sibling really is- she told us she basically disowned the fatherover 10 years ago- so she didn't lose anything at all-did not lose him at least not in the way we did-we actually CARED about him/saw him/called him/spent time with him- which is something she never did & this did not hurt her at all- how do I know? She will tell you to your face- she told the lawyer & swore at him- he was appalled that she would tell him she didn't have $$ for flowers for her dad then turned around & spent a few hundred at BINGO.

-NOT WHAT WE THINK - A FACT THAT IS TRUE & SHE WILL TELL YOU POINT BLANK SHE HATED HIS GUTS-PLUS WE HAVE PHONE RECORDS SHOWING SHE NEVER CALLED HIM-HOW?? WE PAID HER PHONE BILL which has a record of her calls-she never saw him or called-DID NOT EVEN SEE HIM AT CHRISTMAS OR HOLIDAYS- thought BINGO WAS MORE IMPORTANT THAN FLOWERS FOR HIS DEATH- has not been to his grave once in the 4 years since he passed & is proud to tell you that.

When she won her settlement for her suit-which by the way she was out drinking & driving - the accident was caused by her, her fault (she sued her own insurance company)-she bought 40 purses with 40 matching shoes & has NEVER WORKED A DAY IN HER LIFE-WHY??? To go brag to others she owned all of them. She bought drinks for everyone in the bar-40 people she didn't even know - but wouldn't do anything for her own father who she knew all her life??? What's wrong with this picture?? In addition-She has chosen to always live off others.

I answered the questions- maybe you didn't understand it- the 3 page settlement was addressed to both my husband & his father's estate on the letterhead (which has been closed 3 years??) Inside it stated he was to take care of paying the taxes, legal matters & distribute as he chose legally.

That is correct what I stated- he has to distribute according to laws but the letter said he was to do it- not the estate. We did speak with a lawyer today who stated we shouldn't even be paying taxes on this & is calling us back in the next few days. She also said the estate should have nothing to do with it since my husband filed alone as an individual. SEE HER QUOTES & ANOTHER LAWYER'S BELOW:

QUOTE from the lawyer's website "Distribution of the wrongful death proceeds is in accordance with the intestate law. Intestate heirs who were receiving no pecuniary benefit from the decedent may not be entitled to share in the proceeds of a wrongful death action even though they would be entitled to receive a portion of the decedent's estate.

A wrongful death action belongs to the designated beneficiaries. The action does not belong to the estate. Damages are not subject to estate or inheritance taxes or to the claims of creditors and are distributed according to the intestate laws regardless of whether there is a will. A wrongful death action deals with the economic impact and loss of companionship of the death on the designated beneficiaries."

-THerefore - that is why we saw nothing quoted here that impacts her- she did not lose companionship or personal loss as she hadn't seen him in over 10 years & she had no finances from him in over 25 years.

Yes-we would rather see this go to charity than the BINGO HALL & gambling casino as it is not all about money. I would rather see someone benefit than the casino's and poker machines get richer. This is not foolish - spending $67,000 on BINGO, bars, shoes & purses when you won't use them in 4 months is quite foolish. She would have tall his money gone in 6 months which would be even more foolish but will happen.

Actually she is considered incompetent to a point so I am not making that up-their 73 year old mother takes care of everything (all daily living activities- cooking, cleaning, housework, etc) for her & if she dies-we will be sending her to a group home after everything she has put us through because we will not take care of her.

Sorry We don't feel she deserves it- shows her face up when there is money to be had - but had nothing to do with him when he was alive & doesn't want to pay for her 1/2 the funeral, bills, lawyers or anything- says she is "OWED" THIS & TOO BAD for us-we are the suckers??

One thing we have learned in all of this is we will not foot the bill for the mother's funeral & get stuck again-we wll let the sibling take care of it this time-we learned our lesson the hard way & over $20,000 later but won't fall for it again!

 

[therex10]

Wrongful Death & Advice

Maybe this helps you understand a bit better the type of person she really is-unless you have been through the many things she has put us through- you can't understand & I could actually write a book on it all!

 

[Isis1]

Maybe this helps you understand a bit better the type of person she really is-unless you have been through the many things she has put us through- you can't understand & I could actually write a book on it all!

here's the thing i think you may be a bit lost on. how she spends the money is NOT required to prove on whether or not she is entitled to it.

no one care HOW she spends it. even if she was to roll it up and snort through it.

or wipe her butt. after having taco bell.

what matters, is IF she has a legal claim to it. that is what you need to consult an attorney for.

 

[las365]

The fact is that whether you like it or not, your SIL is a wrongful death beneficiary and she can sue your husband to collect her portion of the recovery.
According to your lawyer's website:

Damages... are distributed according to the intestate laws regardless of whether there is a will.

In the course of the suit, your husband can make his arguments as to why he thinks SIL should receive a smaller portion than intestate law provides.

It's in his best interest to settle with her instead of having a bunch of the money go to legal fees. He could suggest that she put her portion into an annuity to help protect her long-term financial interests. But if she is entitled to some of the money (and it appears that she probably is, whether it is half or a third or even only five dollars) it is none of your business what she does with it.

In fact, since you are not a wrongful death beneficiary, none of this is legally your business at all.

 

[ecmst12]

The best argument hubby has is that he should be repaid for the funeral expenses out of the settlement BEFORE it is divided.