What it means
Attorneys' fees and other expenses of litigation are paid by the personal representative and deducted from the awards to the survivors and the estate in proportion to the amounts awarded to them.
There is one exception: expenses incurred for the benefit of a particular survivor or the estate are paid from that award.
- Attorneys' fees and other litigation expenses are paid by the personal representative (§ 768.26).
- They are deducted from the awards to the survivors and the estate (§ 768.26).
- The deduction is in proportion to the amounts awarded to each (§ 768.26).
- Expenses incurred for the benefit of a particular survivor or the estate are paid from their awards (§ 768.26).
Text of the statute (2026)
Attorneys’ fees and other expenses of litigation shall be paid by the personal representative and deducted from the awards to the survivors and the estate in proportion to the amounts awarded to them, but expenses incurred for the benefit of a particular survivor or the estate shall be paid from their awards.
Excerpts are the subsections the summary relies on. Read the full official text of § 768.26.
History. s. 1, ch. 72-35.
How it applies
Under this section, shared fees and expenses are spread across the awards by size. For example, an award that is 40 percent of the total bears 40 percent of the shared expenses. An expense incurred for the benefit of one survivor, or for the estate alone, is paid from that award only. The awards are stated separately in a verdict under § 768.22, and an estate's award remains subject to creditors' claims under § 768.21(7).
Questions people ask
Sources
- Fla. Stat. § 768.26 (2026) (“deducted from the awards to the survivors and the estate in proportion to the amounts awarded to them” Expense allocation.)
- Fla. Stat. § 768.22 (2026) (“The amounts awarded to each survivor and to the estate shall be stated separately in the verdict.” Separate awards.)
Last checked: October 17, 2026
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