Losing a child is a devastating experience for any parent. When that loss occurs because of another person’s negligence or wrongful conduct, parents may also face difficult questions about their legal rights, particularly when the son or daughter who died was already an adult.

In Texas, parents can file a wrongful death lawsuit after the death of an adult child. The Texas Wrongful Death Act does not place an age limit on the parent-child relationship. Parents may have the right to pursue compensation whether their child was 17, 27, 47, or 67 years old at the time of death.

Understanding who can bring a claim, how family members pursue the case, what compensation may be available, and how long parents have to act can be important after a fatal accident.

Table of Contents

Quick Highlights

  • Parents can file a wrongful death claim after the death of an adult child in Texas.
  • Texas law limits wrongful death beneficiaries to the deceased person’s surviving spouse, children, and parents.
  • There is no age cutoff that prevents a parent from bringing a claim simply because the deceased child was an adult.
  • Biological and adoptive parent-child relationships may qualify, although prior adoption or termination of parental rights can affect who has standing to sue.
  • Divorced parents can both potentially be wrongful death beneficiaries; Texas law does not require them to remain married to each other.
  • One or more eligible family members may bring the lawsuit for the benefit of all wrongful death beneficiaries.
  • If eligible family members do not file within three calendar months after the death, the executor or administrator of the estate generally must bring the action unless all eligible beneficiaries request otherwise.
  • Texas generally imposes a two-year statute of limitations on lawsuits for injuries resulting in death, although certain circumstances can affect the deadline.
  • Parents may be able to seek compensation for losses such as loss of companionship and society, mental anguish, pecuniary losses, and loss of inheritance, depending on the facts of the case.
  • Wrongful death cases involving adult children can raise complicated questions about family relationships, financial support, damages, insurance coverage, and liability.

Who Can File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Texas?

Texas does not allow just any relative to pursue damages through a wrongful death claim.

Under Section 71.004 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, a wrongful death action is for the exclusive benefit of the following:

  • Surviving spouse
  • Children
  • Parents

The statute expressly includes parents among the people who may recover damages following a wrongful death.

Notably, the statute does not say that parents lose this right once their child reaches age 18. A parent can bring a wrongful death claim following the death of either a minor child or an adult child.

That distinction is important because parents sometimes assume that once a son or daughter is financially independent, married, or raising a family of their own, the parents no longer have a legal claim. That is not necessarily the case under Texas law.

Infographic: Can parents file a wrongful death lawsuit after an adult child dies in Texas? Yes. Shows who else can file, damages that may be included, and the 3-month and 2-year deadlines.

Who else can file, key deadlines, and damages that may be available when parents file a wrongful death lawsuit in Texas (Source: Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §§ 71.004 and 16.003).

Does the Age of the Adult Child Matter?

There is no upper age limit in the Texas Wrongful Death Act that prevents a parent from qualifying as a beneficiary.

The more significant issue is whether a legally recognized parent-child relationship existed.

A wrongful death case involving a 20-year-old college student, for example, may involve very different facts from a case involving a 50-year-old adult with a spouse and children. Those differences can affect the type and amount of damages each beneficiary seeks, but they do not automatically eliminate the parents’ status as wrongful death beneficiaries.

Texas courts have specifically addressed damages sought by parents following the death of an adult child. In Moore v. Lillebo, the Texas Supreme Court considered claims brought by a mother and father after their adult son was killed in an automobile accident and recognized that parents can recover for losses such as mental anguish and loss of companionship and society.

Can Both Parents File a Wrongful Death Claim?

Yes, assuming each parent has a legally recognized parent-child relationship with the deceased.

The parents do not have to be married to each other. Divorce, separation, or the fact that the parents never married does not by itself prevent either qualifying parent from pursuing a wrongful death claim.

Texas law also does not require both parents to personally file the lawsuit together.

Section 71.004 provides that the surviving spouse, children, and parents may bring the action, or that one or more of those individuals may bring the action for the benefit of all eligible beneficiaries.

For example, an adult child might leave behind:

  • A mother
  • A father
  • A spouse
  • Two children

All could fall within the statutory class of wrongful death beneficiaries. One or more may initiate the lawsuit while the case is pursued for the benefit of those who are legally entitled to recover.

The way a particular case should be structured can depend heavily on the family circumstances, however, so parents should discuss beneficiary issues with an attorney early in the process.

What About Biological and Adoptive Parents?

Questions involving adoption and parental rights can make determining wrongful death beneficiaries more complicated.

A legally recognized adoptive parent can generally have the same type of parent-child relationship for wrongful death purposes as a biological parent. However, biological relationships do not always determine wrongful death standing when an adoption or termination of parental rights has changed the legal relationship between the parent and child.

Texas law provides that an order terminating the parent-child relationship generally ends the legal rights and duties the parent and child have toward one another, subject to limited exceptions. Texas courts have applied that principle when determining eligibility under the Wrongful Death Act.

Similarly, adoption can affect the legal rights of biological family members.

Because these cases are highly dependent on the person’s legal family relationships, parents dealing with prior adoptions, termination orders, disputed parentage, or similar circumstances should have an attorney evaluate their particular situation rather than assuming they either do or do not have a claim.

What Happens During the First Three Months After a Wrongful Death?

Texas law establishes an important procedure for bringing a wrongful death case.

The surviving spouse, children, and parents can begin the wrongful death action. If none of those eligible beneficiaries files a lawsuit within three calendar months after the death, the executor or administrator of the deceased person’s estate generally must bring and prosecute the claim.

There is an exception: The estate representative does not have to bring the lawsuit if all the eligible wrongful death beneficiaries request that it not be filed.

The three-month provision should not be confused with the statute of limitations. It does not ordinarily mean that a parent’s entire wrongful death claim expires after three months.

Families should nevertheless avoid unnecessary delays. Evidence can disappear, witnesses’ memories can fade, vehicles or equipment may be repaired or destroyed, and electronic records may be lost if preservation measures are not taken promptly.

How Long Do Parents Have to File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Texas?

Texas generally gives plaintiffs two years from the date of death to bring an action for an injury resulting in death.

Section 16.003 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code states that the two-year clock starts on the date the injured person dies.

That means a family should never assume that it has unlimited time to decide whether to pursue a case.

There can also be circumstances that affect how a filing deadline is calculated, depending on the parties involved and the particular facts of a case. Speaking with a wrongful death attorney as soon as possible can help preserve the family’s rights and allow an investigation to begin while evidence is still available.

What Damages Can Parents Recover After the Death of an Adult Child?

No amount of money can replace a son or daughter. A wrongful death lawsuit instead attempts to compensate surviving family members for legally recognized losses caused by the death.

Depending on the facts, damages sought by parents may include several categories.

Loss of Companionship and Society

Parents may experience the loss of the love, comfort, companionship, and positive benefits that came from having their child in their lives.

The fact that a child had reached adulthood does not mean this relationship ceased to have value.

Texas courts may consider factors such as the nature of the parent-child relationship, how frequently family members saw one another, their shared interests and activities, living arrangements, and the overall closeness of the family relationship.

Mental Anguish

A parent may also seek damages for the emotional pain, torment, and suffering associated with losing a child.

The Texas Supreme Court has recognized mental anguish as a separate element from loss of companionship and society in wrongful death cases.

Pecuniary Losses

Parents may sometimes have suffered measurable financial losses because of their child’s death.

For the parent of an adult child, Texas case law has described pecuniary losses as including the value of care, maintenance, support, services, advice, counsel, and financial contributions that the parents would probably have received from their child had the child lived.

This can be especially significant when an adult child regularly assisted aging parents financially or provided services, transportation, caregiving, home maintenance, or other forms of support.

Loss of Inheritance

In some cases, wrongful death beneficiaries may also pursue loss-of-inheritance damages.

Generally, this concerns the value the deceased person would probably have accumulated and left to the beneficiary had the premature death not occurred. Whether this category of damages applies depends heavily on the deceased person’s circumstances and the available evidence.

Does an Adult Child Have to Be Financially Supporting the Parents?

Not necessarily.

Financial support can be relevant to a claim for pecuniary losses, but it is not the only type of loss Texas law recognizes after the wrongful death of an adult child.

A parent and adult child may have a close and meaningful relationship even when neither financially depends on the other. Parents can seek damages associated with lost companionship, society, and mental anguish whether the child was paying their bills or providing regular financial support.

This is one reason wrongful death cases cannot be evaluated simply by looking at a person’s age or income.

What If the Adult Child Was Married or Had Children?

The existence of a spouse or children does not automatically prevent the deceased person’s parents from being beneficiaries.

Texas law includes surviving spouses, children, and parents within the statutory class.

When several beneficiaries exist, however, the damages for each family member can differ substantially.

A surviving spouse may have losses associated with the marital relationship and lost financial support. Children may have lost parental guidance, care, support, and companionship. Parents may have their own losses resulting from the destruction of the parent-child relationship.

A wrongful death case should therefore account for the individual losses suffered by each beneficiary rather than treating the family as a single claimant with identical damages.

What Types of Accidents Can Lead to a Wrongful Death Claim?

A wrongful death lawsuit may arise whenever a person’s death is caused by the wrongful act, neglect, carelessness, unskillfulness, or default of another person or entity, subject to the requirements and limitations of Texas law.

Cases may arise from incidents such as:

For families, one of the first questions is often not simply what happened, but why it happened and who was legally responsible.

A serious investigation may require accident reconstruction, witness interviews, vehicle inspections, company records, electronic data, surveillance footage, maintenance records, employment records, expert analysis, and other forms of evidence.

Wrongful Death Claims vs. Survival Claims

Families may also hear the terms “wrongful death claim” and “survival claim.” Although they can arise from the same fatal accident, they are not the same thing.

A wrongful death claim generally seeks compensation for losses suffered by the surviving statutory beneficiaries because their loved one died.

A survival action, by contrast, involves a claim the deceased person could have pursued had they survived. That claim may become an asset of the estate.

Depending on how an accident occurred and whether the victim survived for a period of time before death, both types of claims may arise from the same incident.

An attorney can determine which claims may be available and who has authority to pursue each one.

What Should Parents Do After the Wrongful Death of an Adult Child?

Legal action is understandably not the first thing on most parents’ minds after losing a child. However, certain steps can help protect the family’s ability to understand what happened and evaluate its options.

Families may want to:

  • Preserve accident reports and other documents they receive
  • Keep records of funeral and related expenses
  • Avoid signing releases or settlement agreements without understanding their effect
  • Preserve texts, emails, photographs, videos, and other relevant information
  • Be cautious about detailed discussions with insurance companies
  • Identify potential witnesses while memories are fresh
  • Speak with an attorney before important evidence can disappear

In major truck, industrial, or commercial vehicle cases, acting quickly can be especially important because businesses may have evidence that needs to be formally preserved.

Talk to an East Texas Wrongful Death Attorney

The death of an adult son or daughter can leave parents with profound emotional loss as well as unanswered questions about how and why the death occurred.

Texas law recognizes parents among the family members who may pursue a wrongful death claim, regardless of whether their child was a minor or an adult. But determining who can bring the lawsuit, identifying every responsible party, preserving evidence, and calculating the full extent of a family’s losses can require a thorough legal investigation.

The Roach Law Firm represents families throughout East Texas in serious personal injury and wrongful death cases.

If your adult child died because of another person’s or company’s negligence, contact the Roach Law Firm to discuss your situation during a free consultation.