Wrongful death benefits may include any sort of compensation to the victim's family as a result of losing the victim. In many cases, a major portion of a wrongful death award is comprised of the loss of future support for the decedent's dependent family members, particularly where the decedent was the major breadwinner and/or support for his or family. The formula for calculating future support is rather complicated; essentially, the award is the total amount of expected future earnings, adjusted for inflation and present-day value. Therefore, the award amounts to a sum that, if reasonably invested, would result in the total amount of anticipated future earnings at the point of the decedent's normal life expectancy. Other typical wrongful death damages might include medical bills of the decedent, funeral expenses, loss of companionship, and loss of household services. Furthermore, punitive damages and damages for the surviving family members' emotional distress may or may not be available in a wrongful death action, depending on the applicable state law.