Tort Liability and Reform

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 20 and Section 63-6-1102, relative to wrongful death.

Children

Did Not Pass

The latest official action shows that this bill did not move forward in that session.

Sponsor: Bowling, Bulso
Last action: 2026-03-24
Official status: Failed in Senate Judiciary Committee
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Wrongful Death Law Changes

This bill changes Tennessee's wrongful death laws by extending the time period for proving abandonment and altering how an unborn child is defined.

What This Bill Does

Extends the time from two years to three years that must pass before a surviving spouse can be presumed abandoned if they have not provided support or care for their deceased partner.
Adds that process in wrongful death cases can now also be served by substituted service, meaning someone else can deliver legal papers on behalf of the court.
Changes how an unborn child is defined from being included at any stage of gestation to starting at fertilization until birth.

Who It Names or Affects

Surviving spouses in wrongful death cases
Children or next of kin who file wrongful death claims
Courts and legal processes for serving papers

Terms To Know

Wrongful Death Action: A lawsuit filed when someone dies due to another person's negligence.
Substituted Service: When a court allows someone else to deliver legal papers instead of the plaintiff or their lawyer.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill did not pass and was stopped in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
It is unclear how these changes will affect current wrongful death cases.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HA0566

Amendment 1-0 to HB1528

Plain English: The amendment changes Tennessee's wrongful death laws to limit a surviving spouse's rights if they abandoned or willfully withdrew from their deceased partner for three years.

Adds new rules that waive a surviving spouse’s right to collect proceeds from a wrongful death case if the children or next of kin prove the spouse abandoned or willfully left the deceased for at least three years.
Creates a presumption after three years that abandonment occurred, making it easier for children or next of kin to claim the spouse abandoned the deceased.
Updates service rules in wrongful death actions to allow different types of legal notices to be given to the surviving spouse.

The amendment text does not specify all details about how these changes will affect existing cases or specific legal procedures, which may require further clarification.

Bill History

2026-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly
Taken off notice for cal. in Calendar & Rules Committee
2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 3/26/2026
2026-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly
Failed in Senate Judiciary Committee
2026-03-23 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/24/2026
2026-03-23 Tennessee General Assembly
Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 3/24/2026
2026-03-23 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee
2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/23/2026
2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 3/23/2026
2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Action def. in Judiciary Committee to 3/25/2026
2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly
Reset on Final calendar of Senate Judiciary Committee
2026-03-16 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/17/2026
2026-03-16 Tennessee General Assembly
Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 3/17/2026
2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/16/2026
2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 3/18/2026
2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly
Action def. in Judiciary Committee to 3/18/2026
2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 3/11/2026
2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly
Action def. in Judiciary Committee to 3/11/2026
2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 3/4/2026
2026-02-17 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Judiciary Committee
2026-02-11 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Health Committee for 2/17/2026
2026-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to Health Committee
2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal Population Health Subcommittee for 2/10/2026
2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee
2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly
Introduced, Passed on First Consideration
2026-01-20 Tennessee General Assembly
Assigned to s/c Population Health Subcommittee
2026-01-20 Tennessee General Assembly
Reassigned to Health Committee - Judiciary Committee
2026-01-16 Tennessee General Assembly
Filed for introduction
2026-01-15 Tennessee General Assembly
Assigned to s/c Civil Justice Subcommittee
2026-01-15 Tennessee General Assembly
P2C, ref. to Judiciary Committee
2026-01-14 Tennessee General Assembly
Intro., P1C.
2026-01-13 Tennessee General Assembly
Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Present law requires
the right to institute and the right to collect any proceeds from a wrongful death action granted to a surviving spouse
to
be waived if the children or next of kin establish
that
the surviving spouse has abandoned the deceased spouse or otherwise willfully withdrawn for a period of two years.
"Abandonment," as used in such provision, means t
he husband or wife has abandoned the spouse or turned the spouse out of doors for no just cause, and has refused or neglected to provide for the s
pouse while having the ability to so provide
.
If the
two-year
period has passed since the time of abandonment or willful withdrawal, then there is a rebuttable presumption that the surviving spouse abandoned the deceased spouse.

This bill increases the amount of time that must pass from two years to, instead, three years.

Present law requires, i
n an action
described above
, the child or next of kin
to
serve the surviving spouse with process as provided in the rules of civil procedure or by constructive service as may otherwise be provided by law.
This bill adds that process may also be served by
substituted
service.

"PERSON" DEFINED

As used in
the provisions above
,
present law defines "
person
" to
include an unborn child at any stage of gestation in utero.
This bill removes this definition and provides, instead, that a "person"
includes an unborn child
, which is
an individual organism of the species homo sapiens, beginning at fertilization, until the point of being born alive as defined in
federal law. Federal law provides that "
born alive
,"
with respect to a member of the species homo sapiens, means the complete expulsion or extract
ion from his or her mother, at any stage of development, who after such expulsion or extraction breathes or has a beating heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles, regardless of whether the umbilical cord has been
cut, and regardless of whether the expulsion or extraction occurs as a result of natural or induced labor, cesarean section, or induced abortion.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HOUSE BILL 1528
By Bulso

SENATE BILL 1743
By Bowling
SB1743
010774
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 20
and Section 63-6-1102, relative to wrongful death.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 20-5-106, is amended by deleting
subsections (c) and (d) and substituting:
(c)
(1) Notwithstanding another law to the contrary, the right to institute and
the right to collect any proceeds from a wrongful death action granted by this
section to a surviving spouse shall be waived, if the children or next of kin
establish the surviving spouse has abandoned the deceased spouse as
described in § 36-4-101(a)(13) or otherwise willfully withdrawn for a period of
three (3) years.
(2) If the period of three (3) years has passed since the time of
abandonment or willful withdrawal, then there is created a rebuttable
presumption that the surviving spouse abandoned the deceased spouse for
purposes of this section.
(3) In an action under this section, the child or next of kin shall serve the
surviving spouse with process as provided in the rules of civil procedure or by
substituted, constructive, or other service as may otherwise be provided by law.
(d) As used in this section, the word "person" includes an unborn child as
defined in § 63-6-1102.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect July 1, 2026, the public welfare requiring it.