Your passage through life will be filled with twists and turns, and you can’t always see what lies ahead. But you can ease your journey by preparing yourself for the unexpected.

Unanticipated early retirement

If you encounter a "downsizing" or other occurrence that results in the loss of a job, or even the end of a career, before you expected it, would you be able to avoid major disruptions to your lifestyle?

Disability

Even a short-term disability can seriously harm your finances — and a long-term disability could prove devastating.

Changing family situation

Changes in your life — marriage, divorce, remarriage, children, stepchildren — can drastically affect your estate plans and the type of legacy you want to leave. Review beneficiary designations on your investment accounts, update your estate-planning documents — will, living trust and so on — as needed.

Outliving your money

Once you reach retirement, your greatest concern may be that you’ll outlive your money. To help prevent this from happening, create a sustainable withdrawal strategy — that is, determine how much you can take out each year from your investment and retirement accounts, and stick to this amount.

Need for long-term care

You can't predict whether you will ever need to enter a nursing home or require the assistance of a home health care worker, but one thing is for sure — these services can be extremely expensive.

Untimely death

Your absence could jeopardize your family's financial security, particularly if you passed away while your children were still at home. To help ensure that your family could remain in the home and that your children could go to college, if they choose, make sure you have adequate life insurance.