"What is the value of planning ahead? It won't save me that much time."

I hear that often when talking about estate handoff tasks. I'm going to break down some of the common scenarios and show how planning can help.

Some of the things that people leave behind when they die are uncanceled subscriptions. Here are 8 common subscriptions you might find as an executor.

Social security is simple at its surface. Pay into the system when you work, receive payments when you finish working.

But did you know you may have to return money to social security when your spouse dies?

Social Security pays a Lump Sum Death Benefit (LSDB) which used to be the equivalent of nearly $7,000.

Today the payment is $255.

What happened?

Do you like paying taxes?

You may not be able to avoid paying taxes when you're alive, but your heirs can.

Six feet under, in a mausoleum, as ash... or as a pile of rocks?

Do you want to make this choice, or leave it up to your family?

What would you do if you lost health insurance?

If your spouse recently passed away, your health insurance could drop you.

You probably only think about your tax filing status around tax time. For most of us it's simply checking the Single or Married Filing Jointly box. For those whose spouses died in the past year, taxes could change significantly if you aren't prepared.

How much time can you take off from your company if you have a death in the family?

Hint: probably not enough.

There are lots of things you don't want to think about when preparing for a funeral, but one that stands out is travel.

When a spouse dies, any bank accounts that were held jointly typically need to have the deceased spouse removed. This process is fairly straightforward, but it results in new account numbers.