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ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANTS
Jack G. Hittle Church, Church, Hittle & Antrim Noblesville, Indiana

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEES
JASON L. INLOW, JEREMY H. INLOW, AND SARAH C. INLOW Marvin J. Frank Robert M. Hamlett Frank & Kraft Indianapolis, Indiana

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
HEATHER N. JOHNSON Vicki L. Anderson Joseph M. Hendel Hackman Hulett & Cracraft Indianapolis, Indiana

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Indiana Supreme Court
_________________________________ No. 29S02-0902-CV-89 IN THE MATTER OF THE SUPERVISED ADMINISTRATION OF THE ESTATE OF LAWRENCE W. INLOW, DECEASED ANITA INLOW AND ANITA INLOW AS GUARDIAN OF JESSE INLOW, v. JASON L. INLOW, HEATHER N. JOHNSON, JEREMY H. INLOW, AND SARAH C. INLOW, _________________________________

In the

FILED
Nov 18 2009, 10:06 am
of the supreme court, court of appeals and tax court

CLERK

Appellants,

Appellees.

Appeal from the Hamilton Superior Court, No. 29D02-9705-ES-60 The Honorable Steven R. Nation, Special Judge _________________________________ On Transfer from the Indiana Court of Appeals, No. 29A02-0712-CV-1039 _________________________________ November 18, 2009 Dickson, Justice.

When the proceeds from a pre-trial settlement of a special administrator's wrongful death action are not specifically allocated between different types of damages, to what extent is the decedent's estate entitled to payment therefrom for the decedent's funeral and burial costs? To address this question, we granted transfer.

Lawrence W. Inlow died from injuries sustained when struck by a helicopter rotor blade. Letters of Administration for his probate estate were issued in May 1997. After paying the decedent's funeral and burial costs totaling $284,034, his widow, Anita Inlow, sought and received full reimbursement from the Estate. In December 1998 the court appointed a Special Administrator to investigate and pursue a wrongful death action, which was thereafter filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. Before coming to trial, however, a compromise settlement was reached by the parties and approved by the court supervising the probate estate in June 2003. The settlement proceeds were not distributed immediately and, as of January 3, 2006, totaled $899,158.92 of which $309,569.54 was available for distribution to the parties.1 Appellant's App'x at 210

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