Here are some common questions and answers about Pennsylvania's wrongful death and intestacy statues. (See: http://www.cybersafe.gov/archive/victimcompensation/law_pa.pdf)How is the economic portion of the wrongful death award presumed?
The spouse, children, or parents of the deceased may recover in proportion to what they would take under the intestate laws. If there is no spouse, children, or parents, the personal representative can only collect damages on behalf of the deceased (hospital, nursing, medical, funeral expenses, and expenses of administration necessitated by injuries causing death).
See 42 Pa. Stat § 8301(b) (2002).
What are the priorities under intestate laws?
1. If there is a spouse and no children or parents - everything to goes to the spouse.
2. Spouse and parent/s (no children) -- everything goes to spouse. *
3. Spouse and children - The spouse takes half the estate. If the children are also the spouse's, the spouse also takes $30,000. If the children are not, spouse only takes half. Children divide the remainder equally as long as they are in the same generation.
4. Children and no spouse -- the children take all. Shares are divided equally among the children in the same generation.
5. Parents, no children or spouse -- parents share equally.
6. No spouse, no children, or no parents -- brothers, sisters, or their children take all. Shares are divided equally as long as those eligible are in the same generation.
See 20 Pa. Con. Stat .Ann. §§ 2101, et. seq. (2002)
What happens when there are children of different generations?
The estate is divided into as many shares as there are living members of the nearest generation of children to the victim, including deceased children in the same generation who left behind children. Each surviving heir in the nearest generation to the victim receives one share and the share of each deceased person in the same generation is divided among his or her descendants in the same manner.
See 20 Pa. Con. Stat .Ann. §§ 2101, et. seq. (2002)
