Preparing for expected and unexpected events of life requires thought andplanning. Planning helps ensure that your personal wishes are carried out. It also spares loved ones the burden of deciding what you would have wanted done. Each person's situation is unique, but friends and family can share their experiences. To determine what is best for your particular situation, financial and legal professionals can offer helpful advice.

There are many things to consider when planning for the future. These include medical treatment decisions, health care programs, insurance needs, housing, government or community assistance programs, and planning for incapacity. Understanding basic definitions is a good start.

Advance directive - specific written or verbal instructions about future life sustaining medical treatment decisions

Assets - anything that has a cash value: savings, artwork, coin collection, vehicle, etc.

Beneficiary - a person who gets funds or other property under a will, trust, insurance policy, etc.

Codicil - an instrument that revokes, changes or adds to the terms of a will

Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care - a written document authorizing another person to make health care decisions for you and it remains effective even after you are incapacitated

Estate plan - a plan to distribute or manage your property in the event of your incapacitation or death, marriage or divorce

Executor - a person or corporation appointed to settle or carry out the directives of the will of a deceased person

Guardian - a person who has the duty to care for a minor or legally incompetent person

Household inventory - an inventory of household furnishings and personal belongings

Insurance - a tool to protect your family from the financial burden of prolonged illness, an accident, natural disaster, and death or fulfills obligations to another person because of an injury or loss caused by you or your property

Joint tenancy - Property held by more than one person

Joint tenant with rights of survivorship - a property owned by more than one person automatically passes to the survivor(s) when one partner dies. This bypasses probate but also means your will does not control what happens to your interest in the property

Living Trust - a trust established during a person's lifetime

Power of Attorney - an instrument through which you appoint another person as your agent and confer upon him/her the authority to perform certain acts on your behalf

Probate - a court-supervised procedure for validating a will, paying debts, and distributing property of a deceased person

Revocable trust - an agreement in which one person (trustee) holds property (trust estate) for the benefit of another (beneficiary) and can be canceled or changed

Will - a legal document that states how you want your property distributed and who will settle your estate. Property includes land, buildings, money, clothes, cars, jewelry, art as well as patents and copyrights

Use the Planning Checklist to identify what steps you may need to take to be prepared for the unexpected.