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A moral question

What would you do with the 2 million

  • Buy everything I ever wanted

    Votes: 7 26.9%

  • Donate it to worthy causes

    Votes: 8 30.8%

  • A little of both

    Votes: 11 42.3%
  • Total voters
    26
My emotions would win on this one, and I'd probably donate a lot of it. It would be too difficult and confusing to feel like I was personally gaining from such a profound personal loss.
 

One of the reasons why so much money is paid in settlements when children die is because parents rely on their children for care in old age.

So I probably would invest it to pay for my retirement and old age care. If there's anything left over when I die, I'd split it up and make a RIC-E trust for any other children or nephews and nieces I'd have to help them in their own retirement.
 
I would attempt to build a Green community of inground homes or dome homes completely powered by wind and solar and powered generators as necessary and including a community garden for sustenance and a continuing profit. I believe members and builders of the community would develop marketable skills teaching others how to do the same. The real estate would be developed under a Non-Profit Corporation to guarantee? no onerous property taxes to kill the goose. Invention would be encouraged. Dedication/work ethic rewarded. A couple million would build a large number of homes.
 
I'm not sure 2 million dollars would be enough to cover the psychiatric costs of the immediate family left behind.....
 

Hmm...have you ever heard of Paolo Solari - USA Arizona: ArcoSanti - mini documentary (Paolo Soleri) - YouTube
 
SMTA said:
Yeah, well, I am one of those people.

He will get his, as he will reap what he has sown.

Karma is an awesome equalizer.

Ignorant douchebags like him don't bother me at all.
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I'm so very sorry for your loss.
 

I don't have a kid, so I don't know. I could build a decent business with 2 million dollars, move up to build an empire. Maybe go for the real estate market. Use the money to build something great, not throw it away, or waste it on crappy luxury items.
 
JC Callender said:
I would buy a state of the art robot to replace my kid.
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Ya know, I have 2 kids and was initially taken aback by this comment. But then the Marine in me kicked in and I laughed. This was actually pretty funny lol.
 

I'm a parent of two and didn't think it was that bad. I thought it was kind of funny actually. Its the internet man. Not that serious IMO. Obviously this guy would feel for someone if they lost their child just like I would if I lost mine.
 
To answer the OP, I would pay any legal bills from the case with the money and then start a charity with the rest. I think someone already posted that they would start a charity towards helping other parents that had lost their child. I would do something in the same vein.
 
Luna Tick said:
You're very noble. I just couldn't be quite so noble, I guess. However, I do know that any family member of mine would be happy to see my life enriched. If I died and my family got money from it, I would want them to enjoy themselves.
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I don’t think it is a matter of being noble. It is a matter of not wanting to be reminded of the tragedy every time you look at what you bought. If I spent that money on a new house I would be reminded of my child’s death every time I entered it. I’m certainly not judging people who react to loss differently than I think I would.
 
I don't think I would even sue the dump truck company to start with. It was an accident, and it's certainly not going to bring the child back. If, for some unknown reason, I did sue, I could never use the money - not even a dime of it. I wouldn't want a daily reminder of where it came from.

But no, I don't think I'd even sue. I'd want to move on from the memory of what happened, and if you sue, you are going to relive it over and over, for months. Just let it go. It's just money.
 
Jetboogieman said:
Genuine query.

How does one put a monetary value on the death of a child in the legal system?
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An economist does it calculating their estimnated lifetime earnings based upon their socio-economic class


Money from personal injury/wrongful death are not taxable at the federal level, and as far as I know, that usually carries through to the states as well.

Harry Guerrilla said:
It's harder to do with a child than it is with an adult.
With an adult it's probable lifetime earnings + punitive, pain and suffering, if I understand it right.

With a child, $2 million can be right around the area of potential lifetime earnings.
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Yes. Usually the case will settle for whatever the max policy limits are if they are less than that though because there is no point chasing money that is not there unless the dump truck driver was personally loaded which is doubtful. Depends on the state, but some will give you an additional bad faith claim against the insurance company if they do not pony up settlement money in a reasonable amount of time without probable cause to withhold it or deny the claim.
 
Just those 3 choices? The reason why most lottery winners are broke and in some cases in worse financial shape in a few years after winning millions.
 
I won't come on here and bluntly lie...I wouldn't give it all to charity.

I would make sure that I would have enough to get a few things and maintain a good lifestyle.

I would also open a charity and start it out with about half of the two million settlement. From there, I would spread the message and take donations. I would try to multiply that first million as much as possible.

Would I take the full 2 million and go to charity? Probably not....that is my honest answer.
 
Oddly enough, when my Mother was eight years old, she witnessed a toddler getting backed over by a dump truck. Same accident, different generation. Her brain responded quickly and censored the visual input so that she can't remember what it really looked like.

Obviously, we need a ban on dump trucks.

I would deposit the money into the 20 banks that it would require for FDIC protection. Then I would retire instantly on the spot. When I decided that the interest payments were way too high for maintaining my frugal life style, I would make healthy donations to many respected charities in my deceased child's name, for the rest of my life.
 
JC Callender said:
I would buy a state of the art robot to replace my kid.
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Even more heartless than my responce...
Where were the parents at this time ?
It looks bad , apparently allowing the two year old to roam unsupervised in dump truck terrotory..
The two million should be returned and should never have been awarded, IMO.
 
No amount of money can replace the child...IMO, its better that the dump truck company just pay the burial expenses...and this is more than they are obligated to do...The villain (if there is such a thing) is the parents who place their gain of wealth to be more important than the welfare of their offspring..
Neomalthusian said:
My emotions would win on this one, and I'd probably donate a lot of it. It would be too difficult and confusing to feel like I was personally gaining from such a profound personal loss.
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And, no vote of course; where was other ???
 
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