California wrongful death counsel

A life cannot be reduced to a case.

The people responsible can still be held to account.

We protect the record, take over the outside pressure, and build a claim around the full life your family lost—not only the event that ended it.

Speak privately 747-494-0009

A quiet family dining room with one empty chair in warm afternoon light — Our role
Make room for the family. Carry the legal weight.

2 years

Common filing period from the date of death

6 months

Potential public-entity claim deadline

Deadlines vary by facts and defendant. Confirm the applicable period early.

Who may bring the claim

Start with the relationship.

California law defines who has standing. The answer begins with close family relationships, then accounts for succession and certain forms of dependency.

One coordinated claim protects the family from competing filings and inconsistent positions.

The claim

One family
record

Spouse or domestic partner

Children and descendants

Intestate successors

Certain dependents

Eligibility is fact-specific. CCP § 377.60 controls and should be applied to the family’s actual circumstances.

One event, two legal records

Different losses.
One strategy.

A wrongful death claim belongs to eligible survivors. A survival action preserves qualifying claims belonging to the estate. They are distinct, but commonly pursued together.

Together

The family’s claim

Wrongful death

Addresses what eligible surviving family members have lost: financial support, household contributions, guidance, care, and companionship.

Where it goes

Recovery is allocated among eligible family members.

Legal framework

CCP §§ 377.60–377.61

The estate’s claim

Survival action

Preserves claims the person could have brought before death, including qualifying expenses and losses between injury and death.

Where it goes

Recovery belongs to the estate and is distributed from there.

Legal framework

CCP §§ 377.30–377.34

What the law can account for

The value was in the life,
not a spreadsheet.

A strong damages record translates a person’s role into evidence without pretending that any number replaces them.

Dimension 01

Financial continuity

Income, benefits, and the support the household reasonably expected over time.

Dimension 02

Work that held life together

Childcare, transportation, home care, planning, and everyday household services.

Dimension 03

Guidance and companionship

The care, counsel, affection, protection, and presence unique to that relationship.

Dimension 04

Immediate obligations

Funeral and burial expenses, together with eligible estate-related losses.

How the case moves

We move early.
The family decides deliberately.

Urgency belongs to evidence and deadlines—not to forcing a family into decisions before it is ready.

01Protect
Create distance from the outside pressure
We take over insurer calls and preserve the family’s space while identifying deadlines that cannot wait.
02Establish
Reconstruct what happened
Records, witnesses, video, physical evidence, and responsible parties are secured before the story hardens against the family.
03Account
Document the life behind the loss
Financial analysis and family evidence show both measurable support and the human relationship the law recognizes.
04Resolve
Negotiate from a trial-ready record
The family receives clear options at each decision point. Nothing is accepted, filed, or signed without informed authority.

Where these claims begin

The event changes.
The standard does not.

Every matter begins with the same questions: who owed the duty, what failed, and which evidence proves the connection to the death.

Matter 01 · Roadway evidence

Vehicle collision

Matter 02 · Commercial operations

Commercial transport

Pedestrian and bicycle deaths evidence investigation

Matter 03 · Vulnerable road users

Pedestrian & bicycle

Matter 05 · Property control

Dangerous premises

Matter 06 · Professional standard

Professional negligence

Active matter · 01

Fatal vehicle collisions

Roadway evidence

Impact geometry, driver conduct, visibility, electronic data, and every available layer of insurance must be preserved together.

01 / 06

Questions families ask

Clarity, without
pressure.

A private conversation can protect a deadline without committing the family to a lawsuit or any immediate decision.

2 years

Common civil limitations period

6 months

Potential public-entity claim period

California Code of Civil Procedure § 377.60 begins with the surviving spouse or domestic partner, children, and issue of deceased children. If there is no surviving issue, people who would inherit by intestate succession may qualify. Certain dependent parents, stepchildren, and others may also have standing. Eligibility can be fact-specific, so it should be confirmed rather than assumed.

Many wrongful death actions are subject to a two-year limitations period. A claim involving a public entity can require formal presentation within six months, and other exceptions can change the analysis. The responsible parties should be identified early even if the family is not ready to make broader decisions.

A claim is not limited to salary. California law can recognize household services and the loss of companionship, guidance, comfort, care, and moral support. The absence of a traditional paycheck does not mean the absence of compensable value.

Most civil matters resolve without trial, but meaningful negotiations usually depend on a record prepared as if a jury may see it. We explain the available path at every stage and do not make a settlement or trial decision for the family.

Private, direct, and without obligation

When your family is ready, we will carry the next step.

Tell us what happened. We will identify the immediate deadlines, explain who may bring the claim, and give your family a clear path forward.

Available 24/7 · Direct attorney access · No fee unless we recover