North Carolina § 97-39 - Widow, widower, or child to be conclusively presumed to be dependent; other cases determined upon facts; division of death benefits among those wholly dependent; when division among partially dependent.

§ 97-39. Widow, widower, or child to be conclusively presumed to be dependent; other cases determined upon facts; division of death benefits among those wholly dependent; when division among partially dependent.

A widow, a widower and/or a child shall be conclusively presumed to be wholly dependent for support upon the deceased employee. In all other cases questions of dependency, in whole or in part shall be determined in accordance with the facts as the facts may be at the time of the accident, but no allowance shall be made for any payment made in lieu of board and lodging or services, and no compensation shall be allowed unless the dependency existed for a period of three months or more prior to the accident. If there is more than one person wholly dependent, the death benefit shall be divided among them, the persons partly dependent, if any, shall receive no part thereof. If there is no one wholly dependent, and more than one person partially dependent, the death benefit shall be divided among them according to the relative extent of their dependency. The widow, or widower and all children of deceased employees shall be conclusively presumed to be dependents of deceased and shall be entitled to receive the benefits of this Article for the full periods specified herein. History (1929, c. 120, s. 39.) Cross References. - For definition of terms "widow," "widower," and "child," see G.S. 97-2. As to dependents, see also G.S. 97-38. Legal Periodicals. - As to determination of the extent of the dependency of partial dependents, see 8 N.C.L. Rev. 426 (1930). For note, "Winstead v. Derreberry: Stepchildren and the Presumption of Dependence Under the North Carolina Workers' Compensation Act," see 64 N.C.L. Rev. 1548 (1986).