Can grandchildren receive part of a wrongful death award if their parent already died?
Yes. When a child of the deceased has already died, that child’s own children can step into the share their parent would have received. Georgia uses a “per stirpes” rule that lets a grandchild inherit through the family line rather than being shut out of the wrongful death recovery.
How per stirpes works in this context ¶
The wrongful death distribution rules in O.C.G.A. § 51-4-2 divide the recovery among the surviving spouse and the decedent’s children per capita, meaning each counts as one equal share. But the statute also addresses what happens when a child did not outlive the decedent. The descendants of a deceased child take that child’s share per stirpes, which means by representation of the family branch.
In plain terms, the grandchildren do not each count as a separate beneficiary equal to a surviving aunt or uncle. Instead, they collectively step into the single slot their late parent would have filled and split that one share among themselves. If the deceased child would have received one-fourth of the award, that one-fourth is what the grandchildren divide, regardless of how many grandchildren there are in that branch.
An illustration of the branches ¶
Consider a decedent survived by two living children and three grandchildren whose parent (a third child) died earlier:
- The award is counted by branches, with each of the three children representing one share.
- The two surviving children each take their own full share.
- The three grandchildren together take the deceased child’s single share, splitting it equally among the three of them.
This keeps the deceased child’s branch whole without letting it outweigh the branches of the surviving children. A larger or smaller number of grandchildren changes only how that one branch’s share is split internally, not the size of the branch’s portion.
The bottom line ¶
Grandchildren can absolutely receive part of a Georgia wrongful death award when their parent died before the decedent. They take per stirpes, inheriting the share that would have gone to their parent and dividing it among themselves. The rule preserves each family line’s place in the recovery while ensuring no branch is enlarged or erased simply because of how many people fall within it.
This article is for general educational and informational purposes only and is not legal advice. It does not create an attorney-client relationship, and Georgia law may change. For advice about a specific situation, consult a licensed Georgia personal injury attorney.