Compensating the Stay-at-Home Mom…or Dad – Part II

The good news is that official organizations that are trusted for the accuracy of their reports are beginning to conduct studies on the monetary worth of the work done by housewives and house-husbands.

It’s not that difficult to put a numerical value on those jobs because every day across the nation millions of people pay numerical amounts of money to other people to clothe, to feed, and to equip their kids as they work out in the market place.

The Mother’s Day Index, 2014: Inequality edition – by Barbara Marquand, Insure.com – reported the results of a survey done by Insure.com.

*Note: we’re in no way suggesting that the value of a mother or father is either fully or accurately reflected by a few American dollars. We are, however, excited that those mothers and father who so faithfully execute these important duties might finally begin to receive compensation as do the folks who are on someone else’s payroll! To keep it simple, here are Insure.com’s findings.

The annual financial value of a stay-at-home parent is $62, 985. From this, the median weekly wage can be calculated based on the stats from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Those stats appear as follows:

• Cooking: $382
• Helping with homework: $729
• Cleaning house: $401
• Family finances: $1,029

Insure.com found that a man would earn about 8% more than a woman for these tasks, for an annual total of $67,743. There is no good reason for this disparity. Still, though, having the results of this report is a step in the right direction as far as getting the families with stay-at-home parents fully compensated after going through an accident.

For whatever reasons, juries are often reluctant to award these damages, and thus insurance companies are reluctant to pay. This is probably another area in which consulting firms have colluded with insurance companies convincing them of the savings to be garnered by refusing to pay spousal/lost services claims.

The courts generally allow compensation for lost services as long as the proof that’s offered is “sufficient.” Evidence is usually considered sufficient if it’s based on detailed calculations by a professional – usually an economist.

For example, if a person who is an expert on reporting statistical earnings gives a detailed figure, the plaintiff will usually receive compensation. That comes from a case called Sweeney. Sweeney v. Car/puter Intern. Corp., 521 F.Supp. 276, 287 (D.S.C. 1981). This helpful case also determined that you don’t have to have “precise mathematical proof” in order to have sufficient evidence.

Here at Joyce Law Firm, we routinely seek recovery on spousal – lost services claims; we hope you’ll give us the opportunity to seek the compensation that you deserve!