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Many people are unaware that in a wrongful death action in Massachusetts, which is brought under Massachusetts General Laws, c. 229 s. 2, the proceeds are meant to be distributed to the statutory beneficiaries and pass outside of the estate. It must be noted that M.G.L. c. 229, sec. 2 references the classes of statutory beneficiaries set out in sec. 1 solely in order to determine the identities of the “presumptive takers”– or those beneficiaries who “may” recover– but it does not speak to the percentage each is to receive.
Instead, s. 2 establishes that the jury will determine whether each individual “presumptive taker” suffered a loss for which they may be compensated. (If the case is not tried, then as with anything this is a matter of negotiation.) The statutory beneficiaries sometimes do not have the same quality of relationship to the decedent. With that in mind, those statutory beneficiaries may not necessarily take in equal shares. In Massachusetts, we look to Guy v. Johnson, 15 Mass. App. Ct. 757 (1983) and Burt v. Meyer, 400 Mass. 185 (1987), as they have established that the beneficiary’s contact with the decedent governs the respective amounts of entitlement.
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5.0/5.0Colleen Santora Has been amazing throughout this whole process. I am 100% satisfied with how she has been there and represented me.
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I worked with Perry Feinberg, as my personal injury attorney for an auto accident, Perry was very responsive, and available to answer all my questions. They are good at communicating with you and keep you informed. I’m finally able to put this acc...
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Some of the best lawyers I have ever had very caring and friendly they helped me and my family tremendously, I would 100 percent recommend them and not look any further they will get the job done.
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Colleen Santora and Robert Feinberg at Feinberg and Alban treated my husband and I like family. Their concern for us felt personal and genuine. Colleen and Rob always kept on the details of my case fighting for me and guiding me along during a stress...
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Colleen was excellent to work with- great communication from start to finish. Highly recommend!
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