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Chapter 768 — Wrongful Death & Negligence

Florida Statute 768.22

Form of verdict

What it means

The whole section: the amounts awarded to each survivor and to the estate shall be stated separately in the verdict. No lump sums. Because §768.20 forces every survivor's claim into one lawsuit brought by one personal representative, the verdict must show the split — each survivor's number, and the estate's number, on its own line.

That separation makes the rest of the Act work: creditor exposure attaches only to the estate's line (§768.21(7)), litigation expenses are shared pro rata (§768.26), and court review of a disputed apportionment (§768.25) has something concrete to look at.

— What it says
  • The verdict must state the award to each survivor separately — one amount per person.
  • The estate's award gets its own separately stated amount.
  • The separate lines drive everything downstream: creditors reach only the estate's share, and expenses are deducted in proportion under §768.26.
— In a real probate

How it plays out

We borrow this rule even when no jury will ever see the case. Settling a wrongful-death claim, we put the apportionment in writing the way §768.22 would require of a verdict — each survivor named with an amount, the estate with its own — before anyone signs. A settlement that skips that step invites two fights later: survivors disputing the split under §768.25, and creditors arguing over how much of the money is really the estate's.

Where this shows up

Pages on this site where § 768.22 does real work:

The official text
This page is a plain-English summary, verified against the 2026 Florida Statutes — it is not the statute, and it isn't legal advice for your situation.
Read § 768.22
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