Plan carefully for family’s life after yourself

Some people hang on to a hope they’ll never die. Others face reality and prepare the necessary documents but then haphazardly stuff them in messy dresser drawers or grocery bags in the basement.

Either way, they’re setting their survivors up for unnecessary grief and stress, says David Herbeck, a Twin Cities, Minn., financial adviser.

His book, “An Act of Love: Preparing Your Spouse for Life Without You,” drives home the importance of planning ahead. Its suggestions also apply for people whose earthly goods will go to children, other family members or friends.

The best inspiration for putting a plan in place is knowing what can happen when people don’t, he says. Without a will designating a guardian for minor children, for example, a court may award custody to people other than those a parent would choose. And without documenting one’s choice of a durable power of attorney — a person designated to take over decisions for someone incapable of making them — the same thing can happen.

The court may appoint someone other than he or she has in mind.