39. Except where a death benefit is payable under section 38, the death of a person having no spouse nor dependants entitles his father and mother, in equal shares, to a lump sum indemnity of $6 000.
Where, at the time of the accident, a person acted in loco parentis towards the victim, that person is entitled to the share of the parent he was replacing.
Subject to the second paragraph, the share of the dead parent, of the parent deprived of parental authority or of the parent who has abandoned the victim accrues to the other parent.
Where no person mentioned in this section is entitled to the lump sum indemnity, the estate of the victim if not declared vacant, is then entitled to a lump sum indemnity of $3 000.
1977, c. 68, s. 39; 1982, c. 59, s. 20; 1984, c. 27, s. 39.