The short answer
Wrongful death cases start with a family, often weeks after a loss, asking who can bring a claim and how long they have. Answer both with one page per state that quotes the statute, calm search and Local Services ads, and intake trained for grief. Never contact a family directly, and count signed cases, not calls.
A widow searches late at night, weeks after a crash, typing “can I sue for my husband’s death” or “wrongful death lawyer near me.” Wrongful death marketing begins with grief and two questions: who may bring the claim, and how long the family has. This guide shows an injury firm how to answer both with care, within its state’s law and its bar’s rules.
Why is wrongful death marketing different from injury marketing?
Because the person calling is not the person who was hurt. It is a spouse, parent or child, grieving, often unsure they have the right to act, and wary of anyone who seems to profit from a death. Calm pages that explain the family’s rights in plain words earn that call. Loud ads and accident imagery lose it.
Who may bring a wrongful death claim?
Each state answers in its own statute, and your page should quote yours. In California, an action for a death caused by another’s wrongful act or neglect may be asserted by any of the following persons or by the decedent’s personal representative on their behalf, and the statute then lists the spouse, domestic partner, children and others. Other states use different lists and require a personal representative to file. Your attorneys decide how it applies.
How long does a family have to file?
The general limit for wrongful death in most large states is short, and the table shows it by state. It comes from our open dataset, where each cell quotes the official code. Exceptions for minors, late discovery and claims against a government change the clock, so your page should say “talk to us now” rather than promise any date.
Wrongful death: the general limit in these states runs from 2 years to 3 years, so one page per state beats one national page.
| State | General time limit | Statute read |
|---|---|---|
| California | 2 years | Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1 |
| Texas | 2 years | Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003(b) |
| Florida | 2 years | Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5)(e) |
| New York | 2 years | N.Y. Est. Powers & Trusts Law § 5-4.1(1) |
| Pennsylvania | 2 years | 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524(2); 40 P.S. § 1303.513(d) |
| Illinois | 2 years | 740 ILCS 180/2(d) |
| Ohio | 2 years | Ohio Rev. Code § 2125.02(F)(1) |
| North Carolina | 2 years | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-53(4) |
| Michigan | 3 years | Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.5805(2) |
| New Jersey | 2 years | N.J. Stat. § 2A:31-3 |
Source: our statute of limitations dataset (version 1.1.0), read in each official code; last read October 28, 2026. Exceptions (minors, late discovery, claims against a government) change the limit; your attorney decides how it applies. Not legal advice.
The full table, with every state and four other claim types, is in our statute of limitations by state study.
Which channels fit wrongful death cases?
Use channels that reach families when they decide to look, never before. Search and Local Services ads meet the family that is ready to call; plain pages meet the family still asking questions; a complete Business Profile helps both. Each channel below does one of those jobs.
- Local Services Ads. Google’s descriptions place workers’ comp, SSA claims, SSI and veterans’ disability under ‘Disability lawyer’; dog bites, product liability and wrongful death under ‘Personal injury lawyer’; and foreclosure and repossession under ‘Bankruptcy lawyer’. A verified injury firm can receive wrongful death leads there.
- Search ads. Give wrongful death its own ad group and landing page, with calm copy, and exclude searches for obituaries, funeral homes, life insurance and death records. Our negative keywords tool has a starting list.
- SEO and AI answers. Write the state-law page, a “what a family should do first” page and a page on how damages work in your state. These are the pages AI answers can cite.
- Spanish pages and intake. Many families search in Spanish; write those pages with a fluent writer and answer in Spanish.
The personal injury marketing guide shows how these fit a full injury plan.
What should intake ask a grieving family?
The person answering collects facts gently and connects the family to an attorney; they never say whether there is a case or what it is worth.
- Their name, their relationship to the person who died, and whether others in the family know they are calling.
- When and where the death happened, and how (crash, fall, medical care, workplace).
- Whether a police, coroner or workplace report exists.
- Whether an estate or personal representative has been set up.
- Whether they have spoken with an insurer or another lawyer.
- The best time and way to reach them, and in which language.
Track these calls to signed cases with our personal injury intake metrics guide.
What ad rules matter for wrongful death ads?
The general lawyer-advertising rules apply, and three matter most. Never solicit a family by phone or in person; advertise to the public instead. After an airline crash, federal law adds a waiting period: no unsolicited contact with families before the 45th day following the date of the accident. California presumes misleading The depiction of an event through methods such as the use of displays of injuries, accident scenes, so keep crash scenes out of your ads. Check your own state on our state rules pages. This is marketing information, not legal advice.
What this means for your firm
- Write one calm, plain-language page per state you serve, quoting who may sue and linking the deadline source; have your attorneys check it.
- Run Local Services and a dedicated wrongful death ad group with negatives, and never contact families directly.
- Train intake for grief, offer Spanish, and count signed cases from these calls.
Start with a free video review, and we will look at how your firm shows up when a family searches. For related cases, read our guides to premises liability marketing and medical malpractice marketing.
Questions about this guide
Who usually calls a firm about a wrongful death case?
A spouse, a parent or an adult child, often weeks after the funeral, and often for the whole family. They want to know whether they are the right person to bring the claim and how long they have. Answer those two questions plainly and kindly before anything else.
Do wrongful death cases show in Local Services Ads?
Google's own description places wrongful death under its personal injury lawyer category, so a verified injury firm can receive these leads. How many you get depends on your category, service area, budget and how fast you answer.
Is the wrongful death deadline the same as the injury deadline?
Not always. In many states the general limits match, but some differ, and the clock can start on the date of death rather than the date of injury. Our dataset quotes each state's statute; your attorneys decide how it applies to a family.
Can a firm contact a family after a fatal accident?
No. Most states' rules treat in-person, live phone or real-time contact for pay as solicitation, and federal law sets a waiting period after airline crashes. Advertise to the public and let families come to you.
Sources
- California Code of Civil Procedure § 377.60, who may bring a wrongful death actionAccessed October 28, 2026
- 49 U.S.C. § 1136, assistance to families of passengers in air carrier accidentsAccessed October 28, 2026
- California Business and Professions Code § 6158.1, presumed-misleading messagesAccessed October 28, 2026
- Google Local Services: business screening and verification requirementsAccessed October 28, 2026
- Probative statute of limitations dataset (each cell read in the official code)Accessed October 28, 2026