Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Washington
loss of consortium, wrongful death or estate?
my daughter was killed by a drunk driver. he had liability insurance and i had a personal uim policy that also covered my daughter. when she was killed both insurance companies agreed to pay full amounts.they both say they are paying it to her estate. my child was 18 and died without a will. her father had no interest in her life and even tried to molest her, but now that there is money he suddenly claims to be interested.. in her estate. how can i keep him from getting this money? what about loss of consortium or wrongful death? someone please help me. my daughter hated this man and what he did to her was wrong. she would not want him to benefit from her death when he could not respect her life. any help will be greatly appreciated. thank you for your time
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: loss of consortium, wrongful death or estate?
Your question raises several issues. The first is that if a person dies without a will, the law determines how their estate is distributed. RCW 11.04.015(2)(b) says you and the father share equally. (I assume she had no children. If she did my answer would be significantly different.)
Second, you will probably need to file a probate and have yourself appointed personal representative. But if her estate is less than $60,000, you can bypass the need for probate if you follow the requirements of RCW 11.62.010 at http://search.leg.wa.gov/wslrcw/RCW%20%2011%20%20TITLE/RCW%20%2011%20.%2062%20%20CHAPTER/RCW%20%2011%20.%2062%20.010.htm.
Third, as to whether he should bear some consequence for "trying to molest" her, that depends on the proof of such action you may have. If you have independent proof, it may be worth filing a lawsuit against him on behalf of the estate if (which is probably unlikely) you or her siblings were dependent on her for support, or if there were more than emotional damages.
You should contact an attorney about this matter, but it appears from your facts that her father will share half the estate.
Re: loss of consortium, wrongful death or estate?
A lawyer in my firm recently addressed a similar question and we determined that the money recovered for a wrongful death claim should actually be apportioned among the heirs according to true injury. You would want to explore this particular issue with respect to your daughter's situation because you may find that the father will not qualify for half the award.
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