The wrongful death statute sets out strict rules for who can bring the claim. If the deceased left a surviving spouse, then the surviving spouse holds the authority to bring the claim—he or she is the only person who can bring it. If the deceased also left surviving children, then the surviving spouse will be the representative of the children and share with the children any damages award that is received. (Note that while the surviving spouse must share the damages award, the spouse can never receive less than one-third of the recovery, no matter how many children there are.) If the deceased was divorced, then any surviving children of the deceased would hold the claim jointly. O.C.G.A § 51-4-2(d). A technicality can arise if the deceased has children, but one of the decedent's children predeceased him. In that case, the heirs of the child that predeceased the decedent—i.e., the decedent's grandchildren through the child that died first—would not receive their parent's portion.