Florida Statute 768.25
“Court approval of settlements”
What it means
While a wrongful-death action is pending, a settlement — as to the total amount or the apportionment among beneficiaries — is ineffective in two situations unless approved by the court: when any survivor objects, or when the settlement affects a survivor who is a minor or an incompetent.
The personal representative controls the litigation under §768.20; this section is the check on that control. The PR cannot sign away a dissenting survivor's share, or a child's share, on the PR's own authority.
- Applies while the action is pending — between filing and final judgment.
- A settlement objected to by any survivor — as to amount or apportionment — is ineffective without court approval.
- A settlement affecting a minor or incompetent survivor needs court approval even when nobody objects.
- Approval reaches both the total amount and the apportionment among the beneficiaries.
How it plays out
Most wrongful-death settlements we shepherd need a judge's signature for one of this section's two reasons — a survivor who won't agree to the split, or a young survivor who can't legally agree to anything. In practice the settlement gets papered like a verdict, per §768.22: amounts per survivor, the estate's amount, noticed to everyone, set for hearing. Judges want to see the apportionment track each survivor's actual damages under §768.21 before signing.
Questions people ask
