District of Columbia Wrongful Death Laws

You’ve lost a loved one suddenly and without a will, the damages left behind are distributed by the state according to intestacy law. Intestacy law is defined by each individual state as the distribution of the estate amongst the remaining family.

Damages are distributed according to intestate law in DC:

• If the spouse is living and no children or parent, the spouse receives all of the estate.
• If the spouse and children are living, the spouse receives 2/3 or 1/2 of the estate. If the children are also the spouse’s, the spouse takes 2/3 of the estate. If the children are not the spouse’s, the spouse takes 1/2 of the estate and the remainder goes to the children.
• If the spouse and parent are living but no children, then 3/4 of the estate goes to the spouse and parents split the remainder equally.
• If no children or spouse are living, parents divide shares equally among each other.
• If there are no parents, children, or spouse living, the brothers and sisters divide the remainder of the estate equally among each other.

When children of different generations are involved:

• Damages are divided into as many shares as there are children of the victim, and a share is designated to the offspring of any deceased children divided equally.

For more information on the District of Columbia wrongful death laws, visit justice.gov.

If you or a loved one needs assistance regarding intestacy law, contact the attorneys at Meyerson and O’Neill law firm for a free case evaluation today at 877-373-8059.