If you’re struggling to figure out what to do if your parent is killed in a car accident, consider calling an Indianapolis car accident lawyer. Our personal injury lawyers can’t pursue criminal justice on your losses, but we can help you demand a settlement based on the value of your losses.
Will a settlement bring your loved one back to life? No, and no settlement can replace a parent’s role in your life. However, settlements make it easier to manage your bills. Our Indianapolis wrongful death lawyers can advocate for your right to reasonable support without complicating or worsening your grief. Let us advocate for you and your family today.
What to Do If You’re a Minor and Your Parent Dies in a Car Accident
If you are under the age of 18 when a parent or parents dies in a car accident, the guardian that a parent named responsible for you in their will assumes custody of you. You do not have the right to take legal action in your parent’s name unless you’re over the age of 18.
However, you may gain access to property, funds, and your parents’ belongings following their deaths. In some cases, that property may rest in a trust until you turn 18, at which point you can access it. Our Indianapolis personal injury lawyers recommend meeting with an attorney to discuss what trusts you may have in your name and how to account for that abrupt income.
However, you only have to worry about trusts and inheritance if both of your parents pass away in a car accident. If you only lose one parent, you remain in the custody of your remaining parent. You do not have the right to take legal action against a liable party but may support your remaining parent as they do.
Your Case Will Get
The Attention It Deserves
What to Do if You’re a Parent’s Personal Executor
If you’re over the age of 18 and named as a parent’s personal executor prior to their death, you assume legal responsibilities for them after their passing. You have the right to take legal action in your parent’s name only if you work as their personal representative.
If your parent did not name a personal representative prior to their death, the state can name one on their behalf. You can put your name forward and request the right to manage your parent’s estate.
Our Indianapolis wrongful death lawyers can help you figure out what to do if your parent is killed in a car accident – specifically, who you can hold responsible and how you can demand compensation for your losses.
When to Contact an Indianapolis Car Accident Lawyer
It’s so hard to emotionally deal with a parent’s sudden death. We don’t want to push you into legal action immediately following a loss. However, we want to preserve your right to legal action. That’s why our team encourages you to reach out before Indiana’s personal injury statute of limitations expires.
So long as you act within the two years allotted to you, you retain the right to demand loss-based compensation from the party responsible for your loved one’s death. The settlement you fight for won’t replace your parent, but it can alleviate the cost of their death.
Your first case consultation with our Indianapolis wrongful death attorneys comes free of charge. These meetings do not lock you into legal action against a negligent party. We simply use our consultations to get to know you, better understand your losses, and recommend action accordingly.
What Services to Expect From an Indianapolis Wrongful Death Lawyer
If you choose to work with our team, you can expect us to:
- Investigate the negligence that led to your parent’s death
- Compile our findings into a complex narrative
- Stay on top of your legal filing deadlines
- Manage your communications with the party responsible for your loss
- Prevent a liable party from intimidating you out of legal action
- Prevent insurance companies and bad actors from minimizing your recovery
- Represent your best interests in and out of civil court
You can discuss which of our services you want to take advantage of when you meet us during your free case consultation.
Our services come free of upfront fees thanks to our contingency fee policy. That policy ensures you don’t pay us a dime unless we win the settlement you deserve. You won’t see a single bill from Vaughan & Vaughan while your case progresses.
What to Expect From State Police Officers
If your parent is killed in a car accident, can you open a criminal investigation into a negligent driver’s roadway violations? As a private citizen, no. However, the state may choose to do so, especially if you quickly report your loved one’s fatal car accident.
The state’s prosecutors can then take legal action against a bad actor. You may have to testify in the criminal case the state brings against an offender. Fortunately, the state’s prosecutors can prepare you for this process.
It’s worth it to stay on top of any criminal case Indiana brings against the person responsible for your parent’s death. You can use a criminal conviction to strengthen your fight for wrongful death damages.
How to Financially Stabilize Your Family After a Parent’s Death
You have the right to hold a bad actor responsible for the cost of all of the following losses in the wake of a parent’s death:
- Your parent’s pain and suffering
- Your parent’s premortem medical expenses
- Your parent’s hospice care
- Your funeral expenses
- Loss of consortium
- Loss of companionship
- Loss of income or financial support
- Lost wages
- Property damage and essential replacements
- Emotional distress
- Stress
- Mental anguish
Our Indianapolis car accident lawyers can help you explore your right to damages that may make it easier for you to handle the financial aspects of a parent’s death.
Vaughan & Vaughan Offers Representation to Hoosiers in Need
No one has the right to take a parent out of your life. If you’re reeling from the sudden loss of a parent, you have the right to contact a wrongful death lawyer in Indianapolis. We can walk you through the steps you can take if your parent was killed in a car accident. Our efforts can help you win the settlement you need to stabilize your finances.
Settlements make it easier to pay the bills. If you have a settlement to pull from, you don’t have to rush back to work or put yourself under undue stress. Let Vaughan & Vaughan advocate for your right to the resources that may make your grief easier to bear.
If you want to learn more about our wrongful death services, you can book a free case consultation with our team.
