The divided compensation from a wrongful death lawsuit is going to be dependent on the existence of spouses, parents, direct siblings, and children. According to section 6401 of California’s Probate Code, the surviving spouse automatically gets half of recovery to the estate, and any direct children, surviving parent, or sibling will divide the remaining portion of the compensation equally. The only exception to this rule is unless the spouse and the deceased are legally separated.
For example, if a settlement needs to be divided between the spouse and the deceased person’s parents, then the spouse would receive half of the compensation and the parents would receive the remaining portion. If there is no spouse, then the parents, siblings, and children would divide the compensation equally.
