What Entrepreneurs Should Know About Estate PlanningWhen the time comes to deal with personal loss, it pays to be ready. Here's how to prepare yourself and your family.

My father, a lifelong entrepreneur, died when he was 49. He left his family a solid will and a thriving business, which has sustained a wife, three sons and a nephew for 16 years.

Aside from these two very important things, my dad did little in the way of estate planning.

Now my mother is experiencing a health crisis, and was recently admitted to an assisted-living facility. My brothers and I have been urging Mom to get her financial affairs in order, and over the past few months the family has had a crash course in estate planning.