Alabama gives you two years to file most injury claims. When the driver who hurt you died in the crash, a different clock can cut that short without warning, and it starts running the moment a probate court appoints someone to handle the estate.
Under Section 43-2-350 of the Alabama Code, claims against an estate must be presented within six months after the grant of letters, or five months from first publication of notice, whichever comes later.
Claims not presented in time are forever barred. An injured person waiting patiently on the two-year deadline can lose everything while that shorter window quietly closes.
Your Claim Survives the Driver’s Death
Start with the good news, because many injured people assume the opposite. A driver’s death does not erase your right to compensation.
Alabama’s survival statute, Section 6-5-462, provides that personal claims on which no action has been filed survive against the personal representative of a deceased tortfeasor.
In plain terms, the claim you had against the driver becomes a claim against the driver’s estate, pursued through the person the probate court appoints to represent it.
So the question is not whether you can recover. It is how, and how quickly you must move against the estate.
Insurance Usually Pays, Not the Family
A common worry stops people from ever calling a lawyer. They picture themselves taking money from a grieving family, which is almost never how these claims work.
Recovery generally comes from the deceased driver’s liability insurance policy, and the insurer typically defends the claim and pays any settlement or judgment up to the policy limits.
Heirs are not personally responsible for a decedent’s debts, and the claim is made against the estate rather than against family members individually. If the policy limits fall short of your losses, your own underinsured motorist coverage may make up part of the difference.
Understanding that distinction frees injured people to pursue what they are owed without feeling they are pursuing a family.
The Estate Has to Exist Before You Can File
Here is a procedural wrinkle that surprises people. You cannot present a claim where no one has opened a probate file, and families sometimes have no reason to open one, especially when the decedent left few assets.
If no estate has been opened, an interested party, including a creditor with a claim, may petition the probate court to have an administrator appointed so the claim has somewhere to go. Once letters are granted, the six-month clock under the nonclaim statute begins.
Alabama also allows service on a defendant’s personal representative in some circumstances, and where suit was already filed before the death, the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure provide for substituting the proper party.
None of this is intuitive, which is why these claims are difficult to handle without counsel.
Deadlines That Can End Your Case
Two separate clocks run at once in these cases, and missing either can be fatal to the claim.
The deadlines to track include the following:
- The general injury deadline. Alabama typically allows two years from the date of injury to file a personal injury claim.
- The nonclaim deadline. Claims against an estate must be presented within six months after the grant of letters, or five months from first publication of notice, whichever is later.
- Actual notice creditors. A creditor entitled to actual notice must be allowed thirty days after that notice to present a claim.
- Wrongful death timing. If someone died in the crash, Alabama’s wrongful death claim carries its own two-year deadline, and only a personal representative may bring it.
Because the nonclaim window can close long before the two-year mark, waiting to see how probate unfolds is a serious mistake for any injured person.
When the Estate Has Little or Nothing in It
Some estates are nearly empty, and injured people often assume that ends the discussion. It usually does not.
The insurance policy is the asset that matters most in these claims, and it exists independently of whatever the decedent owned.
A modest estate with a solid liability policy can still produce a meaningful recovery, while a wealthy one rarely pays beyond the policy unless assets are available and properly reached through probate.
Your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is the other place to look, and Alabama permits stacking across multiple vehicles insured on one household policy.
Look at the coverage before drawing conclusions about a deceased driver from an estate’s balance sheet.
Crashes With Several Deaths or Injuries
Multi-vehicle crashes with more than one death or serious injury create competition for a limited pool of money, and the order of events can matter enormously.
When several claimants share a single policy, the insurer may seek to distribute limits among them, and early, well-documented claims are in a stronger position. A separate probate file may need to be opened for each decedent, each with its own set of deadlines.
Some cases involve claimants who are also defendants, as when the estate of one deceased driver faces claims while the family pursues a wrongful death claim of their own. These situations often require coordinated handling across probate and civil court at the same time.
The more parties involved, the more the timing of your claim shapes what remains for you.
How Our Firm Handles Estate Claims
These cases combine personal injury work with probate procedure, and a misstep in either one can end an otherwise strong claim. The work starts with identifying the coverage and confirming whether an estate exists.
Our experienced personal injury attorneys here at Baxley Maniscalco locate every applicable policy, petition for the appointment of a personal representative when a family has not opened an estate, and present claims within the nonclaim period so they are not barred.
We handle serious injury and wrongful death claims across Alabama on a contingency basis, so there is no fee unless we recover for you. If the driver who hurt you died in the crash, a free case review is the place to start.
Questions Alabama Crash Victims Are Asking
Claims against an estate raise questions that ordinary injury claims never do. Here are the ones we hear most often.
Can I Still Sue If the At-Fault Driver Died?
Yes. Alabama’s survival statute provides that personal claims survive against the personal representative of a deceased tortfeasor, so the claim proceeds against the estate rather than the driver.
Will the Driver’s Family Have to Pay Me?
Generally no. Recovery usually comes from the driver’s liability insurance, and heirs are not personally responsible for a decedent’s debts.
What If Nobody Opened an Estate?
An interested party, including someone with a claim, may petition the probate court to appoint an administrator. That step is often necessary before a claim can be presented.
How Long Do I Have to File Against an Estate?
Claims must be presented within six months after the grant of letters, or five months from first publication of notice, whichever is later. Missing that window bars the claim permanently.
What If the Estate Has No Money?
The liability policy is usually the source of recovery, not the decedent’s personal assets. Your own underinsured motorist coverage may also apply if the limits are too low.
Every case is different, so reach out if your situation is not covered here.
Two Clocks Are Running. Let Us Watch Them for You.
Losing a claim to a deadline you never knew existed is a painful way for a case to end, and it happens in these situations more than any other. The sooner someone checks the probate file, the safer your claim is.
Our experienced personal injury attorneys here at Baxley Maniscalco are ready to review your crash and explain your options.
Call us at (256) 770-7232 or reach out through our contact form to schedule a free personal injury consultation today.
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