Oh, and the lawyers are going to have a field day with the wording of that law. -

(e) ( 1) If the surviving parent or guardian of the child brings a civil action against the defendant;

• prior to the sentencing court ordering child maintenance payments as restitution

1. If the parent or guardian brings a suit prior to final sentencing, they must have a judgment before sentencing is completed. The word AND is a connecting word that BOTH needed to be fulfilled to fulfill the needs of e(1)

[...] AND the surviving parent or guardian obtains a judgment in the civil suit, then no maintenance shall be ordered under this section.

(2) If the court orders the defendant to make child maintenance payments as restitution under this section [and]

1. Meaning that unless at final sentencing the judge orders child maintenance payments; (Because there has yet to be a Civil action against the defendant) there is a offset of the judgment awarded, which tend to be higher dollars only because they go to jury trials. They will receive nothing in "child maintenance".

and the surviving parent or guardian subsequently brings a civil action and obtains a judgment. [,]

then the child maintenance order shall be offset by the amount of the judgment awarded in the civil action.

1. If the civil actions fails, then child maintenance will have to have been awarded by the judge prior.

Meaning, if the defendant lawyers up, the DUI and manslaughter (or whatever they wanna chalk it up to), could take 2+ years until it's all said and done, and the victim cannot start a civil action during that time or they are on a running clock because the judge cannot grant "child maintenance payments" if there is not a judgment before the criminal case concludes. Meaning , if the civil actions fail and you started before their case was done. You actually get nothing .