Wrongful death lawsuit settlements are often based in large part on the loss of future earnings and/or financial support for the victim's dependent family members, which may include a surviving spouse and/or minor children. This is particularly the case when the victim was, at the time of his or her death, the sole or primary financial support for the family. However, loss of future support may also be available where the victim was a stay-at-home parent, in that the surviving family members are losing the cost of certain household services, such as child care, tutoring, transportation, cooking, and cleaning. In either case, the value of the victim's future earnings must be adjusted to present day value. That is, the value placed on the loss of future earnings is equal to an amount that, if invested at a reasonable rate of return for the number of years that the victim was expected to have worked prior to retirement and/or a natural death, would equal the amount of future earnings that the family would have received.