If you or your spouse should die suddenly, your family income may be reduced dramatically even if your family income remains unchanged.
This is because certain expenses may increase significantly, for example, if you are a stay-at-home spouse you provide the child care, run errands, do the grocery shopping, take the kids to school and practices for their activities, clean the house, cook, and everything else around the house in order to manage your family and household. It would cost a lot of money - a full time salary, to replace a stay-at-home parent.
In addition, you need life insurance on the main breadwinner in the family to replace his or her income to help the family pay the bills.
The easiest way to determine how much life insurance both spouses need is to use a life insurance needs calculator. It helps you determine your life insurance needs based on your specific situation.