While everyone should have their financial and legal affairs in order in case of sudden and untimely death, reader Charlie has to worry about this much too early in his life. He’s been told that he has only a few years to live, and wants to begin planning now to make his passing easier on his family and to provide for them.

Having just been diagnosed with a terminal illness at age 39 (and being told that reaching age 42 would be a “miracle”), I find myself looking for advice on setting up a coherent Will so that my family will be taken care of. Can the fine folks at Consumerist (both the staff and the commenters) help?

Nothing the commenters on this website have to say is any substitute for a good estate planning lawyer, but we hope that people can share their own experiences that might be helpful to Charlie and his family.

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