Written and reviewed by Josh Kohanim, Esq., California Bar No. 328609 · Published · Reviewed
In this guide
This page follows a case in the order families usually meet each step. Our main wrongful death page explains what a claim involves, and words like heir, guardian ad litem and successor in interest are defined in our wrongful death glossary. You can read all of it without contacting anyone.
The first call
The first call is a conversation, not a commitment. We listen first. Then we ask what we need to see the shape of the case: who died, when and where, which agency investigated, which family members survive, and whether a city, a county or another public agency could be involved, because that changes the first deadline. You can call, or use the short family form on this page, which asks for a name, a number and your consent. Nothing is filed and nothing is signed until you decide. An attorney handles the case from the first call through trial, and that attorney is Josh Kohanim.
If the first days are still unfolding, our checklist for the first 48 hours after a death lists the few things that cannot wait, in the order they usually come up.
One case for every heir
In California, only the people named in Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60 can bring a wrongful death claim. They can file it themselves, or the personal representative of the estate can file it on their behalf. Our page on who can file applies that list to real families.
Each heir has a personal and separate claim. Even so, the California Supreme Court explained in Corder v. Corder (2007) 41 Cal.4th 644 that the heirs' claims are deemed joint, single and indivisible and must be joined together in one suit. So every known heir must be part of the one case, whether or not they want to bring it.
Heirs who will not join
An heir who will not join as a plaintiff must still be made a party, usually as a nominal defendant, and properly served. Code of Civil Procedure section 382 allows that when a person's consent cannot be obtained, with the reason stated in the complaint. In Ruttenberg v. Ruttenberg (1997) 53 Cal.App.4th 801, the court held that naming an heir is not enough, because a party is not joined until served with the summons and complaint. It also held that an heir who was left out could sue the heirs who were paid. Being part of one case does not mean sharing one lawyer, and any heir can hire a lawyer of their own.
The estate's separate claim
A survival action is the claim the person who died could have brought if they had lived. It is brought by the personal representative of the estate or, if there is none, by the successor in interest. Except in qualifying elder or dependent adult abuse cases, a survival action filed on or after January 1, 2026 cannot recover damages for the pain, suffering, or disfigurement the person experienced before death. Those damages remain available only in actions filed on or after January 1, 2022, and before January 1, 2026, or granted a trial preference before January 1, 2022 (Code of Civil Procedure section 377.34(b)). Senate Bill 29 (2025), which would have extended the window, was never brought to a vote on the Assembly floor and did not pass by August 31, 2026, the last day for bills to pass in the 2025 to 2026 session. Law checked November 8, 2026.
Our page on survival actions explains what the estate can still recover and who brings the claim.
Records and investigation
The records come first, because the claim is built from them. Families usually need certified copies of the death certificate, the Medical Examiner's or Coroner's report (in Los Angeles County, the Department of Medical Examiner, formerly the Coroner), the traffic collision report or other police report, and, after a death at work, the Cal/OSHA investigation file. Each comes from a different office on its own schedule, and the final cause of death can take months. Our wrongful death documents checklist lists who holds each record, who may ask for it, and what it costs.
While the records come in, we investigate. We ask the people who hold evidence, in writing, to keep it: video, vehicle data, phone records, maintenance logs or a facility's chart, depending on the case. Some of it is kept only for a short time, so those requests go out early, and we find and talk to witnesses.
Losses the claim covers
California's jury instruction for the death of an adult, CACI No. 3921, sets out what a wrongful death claim can include. The economic losses are the financial support the person who died would have contributed, the gifts or benefits the family would have expected, funeral and burial expenses, and the reasonable value of the household services that person would have provided. The noneconomic losses are the loss of that person's love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, society, and moral support, and, where the facts fit, the loss of the enjoyment of sexual relations and the loss of training and guidance. CACI No. 3921 tells the jury not to consider a family member's grief, sorrow, or mental anguish. The law compensates the relationship that was lost, not the pain of losing it. The jury usually returns one amount for all the heirs. The court decides how an award is divided, and it can divide a settlement when the heirs do not agree. What a family recovers depends on its own evidence, and no result is guaranteed.
The claim to the insurer
When the person or company responsible is insured, the case often starts as a claim to that insurance company. Once the records are in and the losses can be shown, we send the insurer a demand: a written package that sets out how the death happened, why its insured is responsible, what the family lost, and the records that prove it. The insurer answers with an offer, a request for more, or a denial, and negotiation follows. A case can settle at any point, before or after a lawsuit is filed. Usually, all of the family's claims for one person's death share the at-fault driver's per-person limit, and our page on insurance after a fatal crash explains where the money can come from.
If an adjuster calls the family before you have a lawyer, you can take a name and number and decline to talk about the death.
Deadlines that apply
Most California wrongful death lawsuits must be filed within two years of the date of death (Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1). If a city, a county, the State, a school district, a transit agency or another public entity may be responsible, the family must first present a written claim to that entity within six months after the claim accrues, which is usually the date of death (Government Code section 911.2). The lawsuit against the entity then has its own deadline: six months after a written rejection notice is delivered or mailed, or two years from the date the claim accrued if no written notice is given (Government Code section 945.6). Some cases have different periods, including a death caused by a health care provider's professional negligence (Code of Civil Procedure section 340.5) and a claim against the United States (28 U.S.C. section 2401(b)). The dates in any one case should be calculated by a lawyer.
Our pages on the wrongful death statute of limitations and on claims against a city or county explain each rule.
Filing a lawsuit
A lawsuit is filed when the claim does not resolve, or sooner when a deadline requires it. The family's wrongful death claim and the estate's survival claim can be joined in one lawsuit (Code of Civil Procedure section 377.62). The Judicial Council publishes a complaint form for these cases, form PLD-PI-001, titled Complaint, Personal Injury, Property Damage, Wrongful Death. Every defendant, and every heir who is not a plaintiff, must be served. Then comes the exchange of evidence called discovery: written questions, requests for documents, and depositions, which are sworn interviews taken outside the courtroom. Settlement talks can continue through all of it, and a case that does not settle goes to trial.
A criminal case against the person responsible runs separately, and you do not have to wait for it. Our page on the criminal case and the civil claim explains how the two fit together.
Disagreements among heirs
Heirs can have competing interests, and the California Supreme Court noted in Corder that a settlement fund will often be less than the sum of everyone's separate claims. Heirs may agree on how to divide a settlement. If they do not, the court in the wrongful death case decides, based on each heir's own loss, and it may consider evidence beyond the trial record. Kim v. Yi (2006) 139 Cal.App.4th 543 held that there is no right to a jury for dividing a settlement. The split is a family matter: in Corder's words, the division of a lump-sum wrongful death settlement is of no concern to the settling defendant.
Court approval for children
A minor child's claim is brought by an adult the court appoints, called a guardian ad litem. Any settlement for a child must be approved by a judge (Code of Civil Procedure section 372 and Probate Code section 3500). In a wrongful death case, the request for approval goes on the court's full petition, because the California Rules of Court exclude wrongful death claims from the short form (rule 7.950.5). The person who files the petition and the child must attend the hearing unless the court excuses them for good cause (rule 7.952). If a child is among the heirs, have a lawyer confirm the deadline right away. Do not count on the child's age to extend it.
Holding a child's share
The judge decides how a child's share is held. Common choices are a bank account that cannot be touched without a court order, an annuity, or a trust (Probate Code section 3611). The money is usually the child's to control at 18 unless the court orders a trust. An attorney's fee paid from a child's share is set by the court under a reasonable fee standard (rule 7.955). Our pages on the death of a parent and the death of a child cover what changes for each family.
Dividing and paying the money
The court determines each heir's share of a wrongful death award (Code of Civil Procedure section 377.61). Heirs may agree on how to divide a settlement; if they do not, the court decides. Court approval for a minor's share, and any reimbursement claims, must be resolved before money is distributed. Medicare and Medi-Cal may claim reimbursement for medical care paid before the death. Their rules turn on what the recovery is for, and we review any claim before money is distributed. After a death at work, the employer or its insurer may also have a lien, which our page on fatal workplace and construction deaths explains. Our guide to damages and how they are divided covers the rest.
Timing of a case
There is no honest standard length for a wrongful death case, and we do not promise one. What sets the pace is known, though: how long the records take, especially a final cause of death; whether the insurance can resolve the claim without a lawsuit; whether the family agrees on the division; whether a judge must approve a child's share; and how long any reimbursement claim takes to settle. A case that goes to trial follows the court's calendar. The filing deadline does not wait for any of these, which is why a lawyer works it out at the start.
Relatives in another country
In a California civil action for personal injury or wrongful death, evidence of a person's immigration status is not admitted, and discovery into it is not permitted (Evidence Code section 351.2).
When the person who died was Mexican, the Consulate General of Mexico in Los Angeles helps return a body or ashes to Mexico. Its own page says the consulate certifies the papers Mexican health authorities require: an apostilled death certificate showing the cause of death and the final destination, the health department's transit permit, and the embalming or cremation certificate. If the cause of death is still pending, a letter from the medical examiner is added. The service is free and is usually handled by the funeral home. Remains going to Mexico City or the State of Mexico also need a Mexican death certificate, by appointment with the consulate. Families from Guatemala, El Salvador and other countries can ask their own consulate what it offers.
Fees and costs
We work on a contingency fee: the fee is a share of what the family recovers, set out in a written agreement before the work begins. Case costs, such as record fees, filing fees and expert fees, are advanced for the family and repaid from a recovery. When part of a settlement belongs to a child, the court reviews the fee paid from that share. No fee unless we recover. If there is no recovery, you owe no fee and no case costs.
Sources cited
- Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60, who may bring a wrongful death claim: California Legislative Information
- Code of Civil Procedure section 377.61, the court determines each heir's rights in an award: California Legislative Information
- Code of Civil Procedure section 377.34, survival damages: California Legislative Information
- Code of Civil Procedure section 382, a person who will not join as a plaintiff: California Legislative Information
- Code of Civil Procedure section 372, guardians ad litem and court approval: California Legislative Information
- Probate Code section 3500, approval of a minor's settlement: California Legislative Information
- Probate Code section 3611, how a minor's money is held: California Legislative Information
- Evidence Code section 351.2, immigration status: California Legislative Information
- California Rules of Court, rule 7.950.5 and the rules that follow it, minors' compromises: courts.ca.gov
- Judicial Council of California Civil Jury Instructions (2026 edition), CACI No. 3921: PDF
- Judicial Council form PLD-PI-001, Complaint, Personal Injury, Property Damage, Wrongful Death: California Courts Self-Help Guide
- Corder v. Corder (2007) 41 Cal.4th 644: CourtListener
- Ruttenberg v. Ruttenberg (1997) 53 Cal.App.4th 801: CourtListener
- Kim v. Yi (2006) 139 Cal.App.4th 543: CourtListener
- Consulate General of Mexico in Los Angeles, repatriation of remains (last updated February 3, 2025; read November 9, 2026): consulmex.sre.gob.mx