Folks, do your planning. Find a competent estate planning person to help you. From a self serving perspective, I believe the person must be versed in estate and gift as well as income tax planning, to do an effective job, regardless of after-market designations that look good, but no one in the public knows what the substance of them is.
Do your planning, it will be for your family, the most cost-effective money you ever spent. Compile a list of insurance policies, coverages, who the agent/company, and contact information for them is, have your financial advisor and attorney review them, make sure beneficiary designations reflect your wishes and current situation. There is no do-over on beneficiary designations following death, unless you have a very cooperative recipient who understands and will disclaim the interest provided to them via the beneficiary designation. Also, have a Will done that is valid, reflects your situation, and if you are married, takes into account what the spouse may get by "electing against a will" under state law, even if you provide something in the Will or alternatively have a prenuptial agreement that is supposed to handle that. IT DOESN'T, unless you carry it forward properly into the estate plan, and take into consideration this "spousal share" provided under many state's laws, along with other circumstances.
Another item that has caused increased headache - electronic statements! When a person dies, you have to know or know how to workaround their passwords on their computer and email accounts just to get to the statements and then most often there is another password they use to get into the statements. It can cause great consternation and delay in handling affairs if the Executor or Administrator can't get into your computer, your e-statements, and other records.
Lastly, if you have paid up life insurance or other coverage, make a list of company, policy number, contact information, benefit/face amount, so heirs can claim it. Paid up insurance may only send an annual statement, so if you die at the "wrong" point during a year it can be 8 to 10 months before another statement will come along, to even alert a beneficiary or heir that there is a policy, much less anything about the policy.
I know people like to procrastinate, and don't want to pay for this type stuff, but do it yourself and cheap local or online documents are highly likely to cause strife and pain among your loved ones left behind. There is no way to avoid some pain and grief, but you can go a long way toward making the memories better, and heading off conflict with planning that is properly structured and kept up to date.
