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Tina M. Willis, Esq.
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Home» Who Can Sue For Wrongful Death » Wrongful Death Lawsuit Rights Of Surviving Spouses

Wrongful Death Lawsuit Rights Of Surviving Spouses

Posted by TinaWillis - April 1, 2013 - Who Can Sue For Wrongful Death
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Surviving Spouse Wrongful Death Lawsuit

As I have discussed previously, Florida’s wrongful death statute has significant limits, exclusions and detailed exceptions regarding who can sue for wrongful death.  This blog post is focused specifically on the rights of surviving spouses to sue on behalf of their deceased spouse in a wrongful death lawsuit.

General Rule Regarding The Rights Of Surviving Spouses In Wrongful Death Lawsuits

Whenever someone’s spouse is killed and the action otherwise meets the criteria for a wrongful death lawsuit, the surviving spouse is defined as a survivor under Florida’s wrongful death statute, which entitles them to enhanced damages over those recoverable by the decedent’s estate (that is, beneficiaries under a will or Florida’s intestacy statute, which applies when there is no will or the will is partially or wholly invalid for some reason).  For the surviving spouse to qualify as a “spouse” under the act, the marriage must be legally valid, and legal validity is determined by the law of the state where the parties were married.  However, importantly, the damages may be reduced if their were problems in the marriage, as indicated by admissible evidence.  A diligent Orlando wrongful death attorney may also take numerous measures to prevent certain prejudicial evidence from being admitted, although there are never any guarantees when a court is ruling on the admissibility of prejudicial evidence, because the court has a lot of discretion in that regard.  The client and attorney may also work together to uncover facts (other evidence) to rebut any prejudicial evidence, which is one of many similar reasons why having a close, highly personalized relationship with your wrongful death attorney is critically important.

What About Common Law Marriages?  Is There Any Such Thing?

Florida stopped recognizing common law marriages on January 1, 1968.  So common law marriages entered before that date are still recognized and would qualify the spouse as a survivor entitled to recovery under Florida’s wrongful death act.  But any marriages entered in Florida after that date would need to comply with Florida’s existing law regarding how marriages are entered.  Most of the time, for regular marriages, this is simply a non-issue (most spouses are spouses), other than those who wonder about potential common law marriages (which cannot have been created in Florida after January 1, 1968).  In terms of common law marriages entered in other states, their binding validity would depend on the law of that other state at the time that the marriage was entered.

Evidence of Divorce, Intention to Divorce, Remarriage, and Intention to Remarry All Either Admissible Or Potentially Admissible Evidence

I will save more extensive discussion for another blog post, but you should be aware generally that a dissolution of marriage (divorce) ends the rights of the surviving spouse to recover under Florida’s Wrongful Death Act.  To recover under the act, the surviving spouse must have been legally married to the deceased spouse at the time of his or her death.  Additionally, evidence of intention to obtain a divorce may be admissible.  Evidence of remarriage is admissible for certain purposes and evidence of intention to remarry may be admissible.  This type of evidence may be limited or excluded with proper motions in certain limited situations, and, if you potentially may be subject to these types of arguments by the defense, then you need an Orlando wrongful death attorney who will utilize every legal argument possible to minimize or limit the impact of this type of potentially damaging evidence (the rules on this and most issues are complex and could lead to any number of extensive and unique written and oral arguments presented to the court, depending on the facts).

If You Would Like To Speak With A Wrongful Death Attorney About Your Rights As A Surviving Spouse, Please Do Not Hesitate To Call Me Anytime At (407) 803-2139.  There is No Cost or Obligation For The Phone Call.  Also, You Never Pay Any Fees Unless And Until We Recover.

 

Common Law Marriages, Rights Of Surviving Spouse

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Important Disclaimers

This information on this page is designed to give you a general idea of wrongful death law in Florida. However, the law frequently changes and is subject to countless numbers of exceptions, exclusions, and variations, which only a lawyer can evaluate. Additionally, although we made every effort to provide accurate information on this website, we did not give preparation of the material on this website the same level of attention and scrutiny that we would give to a potential client’s or client’s case. So you should not rely on anything on this page but rather should speak with one of our attorneys to confirm that the information is accurate, the law has not changed and to better determine how the law applies to your particular case.

Nothing on this website is intended to constitute or serve as a substitute for legal advice. You should not rely on anything you read here without seeking legal counsel. Nothing provided on this site will create an attorney-client relationship with Tina M. Willis, Esq. or Tina Willis Law. The information provided on this site may not always be current. No representation is made that the quality of this firm’s legal work is better than the quality of the legal work of other lawyers.

My office is located in Orlando, Florida. However, I am a licensed attorney in the states of Florida & Georgia, so I can accept wrongful death cases from either of those states, and I give all cases the same level of careful attention regardless of where they are located.

What if you are located in another state?

Attorneys cannot handle cases out of the states where they are licensed without joining co-counsel from the other state. However, this can often be easily done and does not cost you any more money. If you are from another state, then I might also be able to help you find an attorney from your state through my attorney contacts all over the U.S., and still stay involved in an oversight or co-counsel capacity.

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(c) 2013 Orlando Wrongful Death Attorney, Former Law Professor Tina M. Willis, Esq.