AK · jury_instructions
Alaska Civil Pattern Jury Instruction 4.09
Wrongful Death Damages - Loss of Future Savings
The _____ item of economic loss is a claim for money that [decedent] would have earned and saved during the rest of [his][her] lifetime if [decedent] had not died on [date of death]. To compute this amount, you must complete the following steps:
(1) Determine the amount that [decedent] would have earned during the period between the date of death, [insert date], and the date of trial, [insert date]. From this amount, you must subtract two amounts. First, you must subtract the money that [decedent] would have spent during the same time period to provide financial support for [spouse/children/other beneficiaries]. Second, you must subtract the money that [decedent] would have spent during the same time period for all other purposes, including income taxes. This is Amount 1.
(2) Determine the amount that [decedent] would have earned during the period between the date of trial, [insert date], and the end of [his][her] ordinary life expectancy. From this amount, you must subtract two amounts. First, you must subtract the money that [decedent] would have spent during the same time period to provide financial support for [spouse/children/other beneficiaries]. Second, you must subtract the money that [decedent] would have spent during the same time period for all other purposes, except income taxes. This is Amount 2.
(3) The sum of Amount 1 and Amount 2 is [decedent]’s probable savings. If this amount is zero or negative, there are no savings to award. But if you determine that [decedent] would have saved money from [his][her] earnings during the rest of [his][her] lifetime, the savings must be awarded to [spouse/children/statutory beneficiaries].
In determining Amount 1 and Amount 2, you may consider, along with other evidence, [decedent]’s age, ability, and willingness to earn money and [his][her] living and spending habits.
[Any award for future loss of savings must be reduced to present cash value. I will explain in a few minutes the meaning of present cash value and how to reduce to present cash value.]
[Insert instruction on how to decide how much to award to each statutory beneficiary.]
History
Alaska Civil Pattern Jury Instructions 4.09, dated (Added 2013). Prepared by the Alaska Civil Pattern Jury Instructions Committee; published by the Alaska Court System. The Alaska Court System states that these instructions "have not been approved or promulgated by any court or the Alaska Bar Association."
Provenance
- Source
- courts.alaska.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-24
- Edition
- 2026-09-24
- Content hash
2bb762b0ccb5be5da3dadce6f94d5196685a2647ccd6a9b0089e60dc1ce88717
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