Two men were lifelong friends and similar in many ways. Both were affluent, mid-fifties, healthy, with several children and grandchildren. Life was good.

Then tragedy struck. Returning home from a golf weekend together, their car was involved in a serious auto accident. Neither of them survived.

Both families were devastated. But one was far more devastated than the other.

Because although these two men were so similar in their lifetimes, they left remarkably different legacies for their families in their deaths.

One had an estate plan. Everything from funeral arrangements to the trusts for his grandchildren had been pre-planned. Right down to who got his beloved sailboat. His spouse and family were able to properly mourn his passing with love and the comforting knowledge that he had planned so carefully for their welfare.

His friend had always thought it was bad luck to talk about his death. So not only did he not have an estate plan, he didn’t even have a Will. Perhaps if he had just thought about the consequences for his family, things may have been different.

His grief-stricken spouse was left to arrange for his funeral, burial and all the legal and financial requirements. And all of it with no Will to guide her in making decisions. The stress of dealing with all this together with her emotional strain was nearly more than she could bear.

To make matters worse, the arguing and bickering among family members over the estate delayed a settlement and cost a fortune in legal fees. The end result was a severely depleted estate and bitterness in the family that will probably last for years.

Every year, too many families go through unnecessary nightmares simply because someone didn’t believe in estate planning or procrastinated it.

Fortunately, more and more people are realizing that estate planning is an essential part of financial planning and is one of the most important things you will ever do for yourself and your family.