What it means
Five definitions steer every wrongful-death recovery. 'Survivors' means the decedent's spouse, children, parents, and — when partly or wholly dependent on the decedent for support or services — blood relatives and adoptive brothers and sisters. A child born out of wedlock is always the mother's survivor, but the father's only if he recognized a responsibility for support. 'Minor children' means children under 25 years of age, notwithstanding the age of majority. 'Support' includes contributions in kind; 'services' are the household tasks the decedent regularly performed; 'net accumulations' are what the decedent would probably have saved and left as an estate.
- 'Survivors' = spouse, children, parents, plus dependent blood relatives and adoptive brothers and sisters.
- 'Minor children' means children under 25, notwithstanding the age of majority — a definition unique to this Act.
- A child born out of wedlock is the mother's survivor automatically; the father's only if he recognized a responsibility for support.
- 'Net accumulations' = the expected savings the decedent would have left as part of an estate over a normal life expectancy.
- 'Support' counts contributions in kind as well as money; 'services' are household tasks determined case by case.
How it plays out
The under-25 rule surprises people more than any other line in the Act. A 23-year-old is an adult everywhere else in Florida law — but is a 'minor child' here, which unlocks damages for lost parental companionship and mental pain and suffering under §768.21(3). We map the survivor list at the start of every wrongful-death probate: who qualifies, which children count as minors, and who was dependent. That map controls both who recovers and what the case is realistically worth.
Questions people ask
