When a Loved One Dies, the Family Loses More Than Income

Lost household support and services in a New Mexico wrongful death claim means the everyday help a family no longer gets from the person who died. That can include childcare, cooking, cleaning, home repairs, and rides to school. This guide explains what the term covers, who may bring the claim, and what records can help show the loss.

What Lost Household Support and Services Means in a Wrongful Death Claim

Lost household support and services is the value of the help a person gave the family at home. The claim measures what the family lost, not what the person who died gained.

Support usually means money or financial contributions to the family. Services means labor and tasks. Many families see these overlap. A parent who earned a paycheck may also have cooked dinner, driven the kids to practice, and handled the bills.

New Mexico’s uniform jury instructions describe this loss as “the reasonable value of the services of the spouse of which the family has been deprived” (UJI 13-1810 NMRA).

Who Can Bring a Wrongful Death Claim in New Mexico

A personal representative brings the wrongful death claim for the family. The claim is filed in that person’s name.

Under the New Mexico Wrongful Death Act, the person or company that would have been liable if the death had not happened can be sued for damages (§ 41-2-1). Every such action is brought by the personal representative of the deceased person (§ 41-2-3).

Who holds that role matters. The statute also sets an order for who receives the proceeds. A surviving spouse comes first when there is no child. If there is a spouse and a child, the spouse and children share. Which family members may recover depends on who survives the deceased, and New Mexico law sets the order in which they may share in the proceeds.

For a general overview of the claim process, read our wrongful death lawyer in New Mexico guide.

Crash Types That Can Lead to a Fatal Injury Claim

A fatal crash involving a passenger vehicle, a commercial truck, or other careless conduct can lead to a wrongful death claim. Common examples include a driver who ran a red light, a driver who was too tired to drive safely, or a crash on a busy road.

New Mexico law requires a driver in a crash that causes injury or death to stop at the scene and stay until the legal requirements are done (§ 66-7-201).

Whether a particular crash supports a claim depends on the facts. It also depends on who may be legally responsible. Each family’s facts are different, so a careful review of the crash is needed before any conclusions are drawn.

Which Household Losses a Family May Be Able to Document

A family can document losses in childcare, meal preparation, housekeeping, yard and home upkeep, driving, errands, and caregiving for other relatives. Each task has a real cost in time and money.

Courts look at the evidence the family presents. The value of these losses often depends on the person’s age, health, work history, and role at home. A younger, healthy parent who handled most of the household tasks may have a different picture than an older relative who helped only part time.

The claim can also look forward. The jury may also award compensatory and exemplary damages it deems fair and just, taking into consideration the pecuniary injury to the surviving party and having regard to the mitigating or aggravating circumstances attending the wrongful act, neglect or default (§ 41-2-3).

Evidence That Helps Show What the Family Lost

Records that show the person’s regular role at home work best. The family should gather them early, while memories and files are still easy to reach.

Useful records include pay stubs, tax returns, and employment records. Household calendars, school schedules, and activity schedules also help. Receipts for childcare or hired help are important too. Photos can show the person’s role in daily life.

Written statements from family members, friends, coworkers, and neighbors can describe routines. A person may have handled the grocery list, the car maintenance, or the Sunday dinners. Those details are easy to forget later.

Start a running list of tasks the family now has to cover. Note the task, the date, and the time it takes. This list is for the family’s own records, and it can be shared later with the people helping with the claim.

Loss of Companionship and Other Damages Often Claimed Alongside Household Services

Loss of companionship is a different claim from household services.

The loss of consortium instruction asks whether the claimant and the person who died had a mutually dependent relationship. In deciding whether a relationship is mutually dependent, factors to consider may include the duration of the relationship, whether the claimant and the injured or deceased person were members of the same household, and their emotional reliance on one another (UJI 13-1810A NMRA).

Which categories apply depends on the facts of the case and the family relationship. The household services claim and the loss of consortium claim are separate, and a loss of consortium claimant must show a mutually dependent relationship with the injured or deceased person (UJI 13-1810A NMRA).

Taxes and Timing Questions Families Raise Early

Every action instituted by virtue of the provisions of this and the preceding section [41-2-1 NMSA 1978] must be brought within three years after the cause of action accrues. The cause of action accrues as of the date of death (NMSA § 41-2-2). The clock starts on the date of death, not the date of the crash (§ 41-2-2).

Families also ask how a settlement might be taxed. For a general explanation of how those questions are approached, see our settlement tax guide.

These questions are worth raising at the first conversation. Knowing the timing and the tax questions early helps the family plan.

Talk With Josh Wood About Your Family’s Situation

Many families read about wrongful death while planning a funeral, sorting paperwork, or helping a parent or sibling. You may be doing this on someone else’s behalf, with questions you never expected to face.

Josh Wood is the responsible lawyer for this page. He is licensed in New Mexico and Arizona. You can reach the firm by phone, through the El Gringo Law contact page, or by starting a chat.

El Gringo Law offers a free, confidential initial consultation with no obligation to continue. You can use that time to talk through what your family lost.

Bernalillo and Sandoval Counties

The data describes crashes. It does not predict how any claim will be decided.

Frequently asked questions