WHAT ARE UNMARRIED PARTNER’S RIGHTS WHEN SIGNIFCANT OTHER KILLED IN CAR ACCIDENT?

Many couples live together long term without getting married. Often, this is older couples after a first marraige. However, we also frequently see these arrangements at a young age – even with people who have children together. Therefore, it is important to know that long-term relationships confer limited rights to couples who are not legally married. One situation where this is a problem is when one of the partners is killed in a car accident. Our car accident lawyers have had many cases with this situation.

Unfortunately, when a couple is not married, it makes the fatal car accident case more difficult. In many cases, the surving partner has limited or no rights. As a starting point, our lawyer have been in the hospital room when final decisions have to be made about a car accident victim. This may be whether to take them off life support or the specific funeral arrangements. Of course, we hope that the family and surviving partner will agree on everything, but that is not always the situation.

From the perspective of a car accident lawyer, not being married affects the compensation available to the surviviors. Usually, it is the the immediate family of the car accident victim that warrants the most compensation. In other words the children and spouse of the person who was killed. However, with a long-term but unmarried relationship, the significant other often has very limited options. Of course, providing for any children is still the highest priority.

FATAL CAR ACCIDENT LAWYERS MN

If your loved one was killed in a car accident, our lawyers can help. Even if you were not married, you may still have rights in some situations. For example, if the other driver was drunk, any claim against a bar can include the unmarried partner. Also, of course, if you shared children with the person killed, you will have many rights through the children. The starting point for compensation is No-Fault benefits. That insurance comes from the victim’s vehicle regardless of which car was at fault. They will pay the first $5,000 of funeral expenses and some other benefits as well.

Pam Rochlin and David Rochlin have more than 25 years’ experience handling car accident cases throughout Minnesota. When you call our office, there is no charge for the initial consultation to answer your questions and explain your rights. Further, we never charge anything unless you and your family receive compensation. For more information about this type of case, see our wrongful death page.