South Carolina Code 42-9-140. Payment when deceased employee leaves no dependents or partial dependents
(B) If the deceased employee leaves no dependents or nondependent children, the employer shall pay the commuted amounts provided for in § 42-9-290 for whole dependents, less burial expenses which must be deducted from those commuted amounts, to his father and mother, irrespective of age or dependency.
Terms Used In South Carolina Code 42-9-140
- Decedent: A deceased person.
- Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
- Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
- Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
(C) If the deceased employee leaves a partial dependent or dependents as defined in § 42-9-120, the employer shall pay compensation to those dependents, in accordance with § 42-9-290, and the remainder of the commuted amounts provided for in § 42-9-290, less burial expenses, which must be deducted from the commuted amounts, to his nondependent children. If no children survive the deceased employee, then the remainder must be paid to his father and mother, irrespective of age or dependency.
(D) If the deceased employee leaves no dependents or nondependent children or mother or father, then his employer shall pay to the deceased’s personal representative the actual costs for burial expenses and the administration of the deceased’s estate, and to the commission the commuted amounts provided for dependents under § 42-9-290, to be expended in accordance with § 42-9-400.
(E) If the deceased employee leaves partial dependents as defined in § 42-9-120 and no children or mother or father, then his employer shall pay to that partial dependent in accordance with provisions found in § 42-9-290 and shall pay to the deceased’s personal representative the actual cost of burial expenses and the administration of the deceased’s estate, and to the commission the remaining compensation, commuted as provided under § 42-9-290, to be expended in accordance with § 42-9-400.
(F) If amounts are payable to the mother and father of the deceased employee pursuant to subsections (B) and (C), upon the motion of either parent or any other potential party of interest based upon the decedent having died intestate, the commission may deny or limit either or both parent’s entitlement for a share of the benefits if the commission determines, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the parent or parents failed to reasonably provide support for the decedent as defined in § 63-5-20 and did not otherwise provide for the needs of the decedent during his or her minority.
(G) Payment as prescribed in this section releases the employer from all death benefit liability.