Are you worried about what would happen to your family in the event of your death? You should be. Death is a topic that most people want to avoid at all costs, but it's something that is eventually going to happen to all of us so we need to "get over it" and step up and take responsibility for ourselves and our family by making arrangements that will take care of our final expenses and last wishes. Here is a "to do" list of things to consider in the event of your untimely passing.

#1. Get a Will and keep it current - A Will not only makes certain of your final arrangements and wishes, but it also may prevent many problems among your surviving family members. If you have monetary valuables or family heirlooms you really need to designate who receives these items by doing it in writing. Leave no doubt as to who gets what. You don't need to state a reason for your actions. This could avoid potentially years of civil action and tearing your family apart. Get a Will right away. It only costs around $50.00 and can save your family a lot of unwanted grief after you're gone.

#2. Get life insurance coverage - This is extremely important, especially if you are the breadwinner (primary source of income) of the family. What would happen to your spouse and children in the event of your passing? Would they have enough money to survive for any length of time? How old are the kids? Will it be enough to last them through their school years, including college expenses and tuition? You need to get together with your spouse or significant other and make a list of every monthly expense that you currently have, will have in the future and separate what will be regular onging expenses from what will be long term or permanent, such as food, utilities, ect.

#3. Get life insurance coverage for each family member - This is a tough one. You never imagine any of your family passing away before you do, especially your kids, but it does happen sometimes and it's best to be prepared for it just in case. The average cost of a funeral these days is between $6,-$10,000.00 and I don't know about you, but most families don't have that kind of money just "lying around" and if they do, they can usually find something else that they need to spend it on. Life insurance for the kids is relatively inexpensive. You don't need much coverage, just enough to cover final arrangements and a little more "just in case" money. Life insurance for your spouse is a different story and will depend on many different factors such as the type of policy you buy, whether it's Whole Life, Term, ect., their body weight, occupation, smoker or non-smoker, age and more.

This is just a short list of necessary things that you really should do in order to make sure that the ones you love most are taken care of in the event of your passing and that you're not hit with unexpected financial burden in the event that something happens to one of them unexpectedly. Don't put these things off until their too late. If it's not something that you feel you can deal with then let your spouse take care of it.