Death is sure to happen. Yet, with proper planning, you can save your family a lot of hassle at a time when they have more than enough pain and grief to deal with.

Long before she finally succumbed to her illness, Mary recorded all her vital information in one place and told her daughters where it could be found.

She gave them names, contact information, account numbers, financial information, instructions for pets, messages for friends and next-of-kin. Everything she thought her heirs needed to know.

On the other hand, Steve always managed all the household money matters. And, he never had discussions about them with Linda.

No one but Steve knew where to find life insurance policies, deeds to real estate, or even who to talk to about the retirement accounts.