Anderson v. Anderson

The question for decision in this case is whether or not a father, who has abandoned his minor child, and then the child is killed and damages awarded for this unlawful killing, is entitled to share in this money as one of the heirs of the deceased child.

The Chancellor sustained the demurrer holding that the father was entitled to share in the proceeds since he had not been divorced from the child’s mother and no custody had been awarded of the child in his lifetime to either the father or the mother. A discretionary appeal was allowed and after some considerable study and investigation we…