Planning your financial present and future ranks up there with cleaning out the garage or painting your living room. Things you need to do but really don't want to do.

Having seen the ravages of unexpected events first hand, however, I cannot stress enough the importance of taking some very simple steps to avoid complicated problems that could be lurking around the corner.

Here is the good news. Every day that you wake up and engage in whatever activity provides you with an income, you are creating net worth. That's also the bad news.....While you're out toting that barge and lifting that bale, the wolves at the door named "natural disaster", "man-made disaster", and their ringleader "Father Time" are all conspiring to rob you of this net worth with lightning speed.

Enough of the gloom and doom. This isn't your local news, after all!

You have, within your grasp, by harnessing the power of the humble telephone, the ability to transform products you probably already own into very effective first-lines of defense.

Here are the very basic categories that you should concern yourself with, and some suggested action steps: (Disclaimer:-While the topics touched upon here certainly don't encompass all of the issues you could or should address, it hopefully can give you what I like to call "The 30,000 foot view" of your situation.)

In the category of Asset Protection:

Max out the liability limits on your auto insurance. The maximums vary by state, but going from the very bottom rung the top costs surprisingly little. (Example: I took a guy from $100k to $1M for $80 a year!)

Max out the liability limits on your homeowners policy. Here again, there is about a $50 yearly swing from the very minimum to the very maximum.

Purchase an Umbrella Policy. For about $200 a year, you can have $1M of excess coverage that will kick in should you exhaust the limits of your auto or home policies.

Take a very close look at the disability coverage you have through your employer, if any. Nine times out of 10, theres a huge gap. An individual policy, if only to cover your mortgage, could likely run you less than $100 per month.

For self-employed persons, depending on your filing status, you can compensate yourself the necessary dollars to pay premiums, pay income tax on the imputed income, and then deduct at the corporate and personal level.

In the category of Survivor Benefits:

Consider the purchase of a life insurance policy that can either replace your income for a specific period, or a lump sum that will generate an income in the amount and time frame desired buy your survivors.

Bear in mind that litigation can sometimes occur after a persons death, so consider those cash needs as well. You may also find coverage under the Umbrella Policy.

In the category of Future Cash Needs:

This is a pretty broad category. The only thing I will say here is that you don't always want to rely on suggestions made by your Brother-In-Law who is an IT guy but reads "Money" magazine and has an E-Trade account. Tax laws are changing all the time, and new and innovative products are being introduced all the time to meet consumer demands. (A family friend of a client I'm currently doing some estate work for had some serious misconceptions about a product suggestion I was making)

Conclusion

Like it or not, one of three things could happen to you.

You'll live too long.

You'll die too soon.

You'll become disabled.

Plan with these three "contingencies" in mind, and you'll reduce your chances of getting caught with your financial pants down.