Friday, September 5, 2008
The General Assembly is not in session.
Tracking Virginia’s General Assembly
since 2007.
HB1221: Death by wrongful act; beneficiaries in actions where decedent died testate.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 8.01-53 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 8.01-53. Class and beneficiaries; when determined.
A. TheExcept where the decedent dies testate, the damages awarded pursuant to § 8.01-52 shall be
distributed as specified under § 8.01-54 to (i) the surviving spouse, children
of the deceased and children of any deceased child of the deceased or (ii) if
there be none such, then to the parents, brothers and sisters of the deceased,
and to any other relative who is primarily dependent on the decedent for
support or services and is also a member of the same household as the decedent
or (iii) if the decedent has left both surviving spouse and parent or parents,
but no child or grandchild, the award shall be distributed to the surviving
spouse and such parent or parents or (iv) if there are survivors under clause
(i) or clause (iii), the award shall be distributed to those beneficiaries and
to any other relative who is primarily dependent on the decedent for support or
services and is also a member of the same household as the decedent or (v) if
no survivors exist under clause (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv), the award shall be
distributed in the course of descents as provided for in § 64.1-1. Where
the decedent dies testate, the award shall be distributed in accordance with the provisions of
the decedent's will pursuant to
Chapter 3 (§ 64.1-45 et
seq.) of
Title 64.1. Provided, however, no parent whose parental rights and
responsibilities have been terminated by a court of competent jurisdiction or
pursuant to a permanent entrustment agreement with a child welfare agency shall
be eligible as a beneficiary under this section. For purposes of this section,
a relative is any person related to the decedent by blood, marriage, or
adoption and also includes a stepchild of the decedent.
B. The class and beneficiaries thereof eligible to receive such distribution shall be fixed (i) at the time the verdict is entered if the jury makes the specification, or (ii) at the time the judgment is rendered if the court specifies the distribution.
C. A beneficiary may renounce his interest in any claim brought pursuant to § 8.01-50 and, in such event, the damages shall be distributed to the beneficiaries in the same class as the renouncing beneficiary or, if there are none, to the beneficiaries in any subsequent class in the order of priority set forth in subsection A.
Additional Data
Explanation
This is the actual text of the bill — the legislation itself. Generally this is amending existing law, proposing the addition or removal of words from laws that are already on the books.
Words that are highlighted in yellow are
proposed additions, and words that are crossed out in
red are proposed removals.
The numbers with the § symbol before them are references to existing laws, and if you click on them they’ll take you to that part of the law on the state's website.