Coping with debt, divorce and death

(This article features statistics from the UK but solutions are equally applicable to the US)

The figures make for grim reading. Average household debt (including credit cards and overdrafts, but excluding mortgages) now stands at £8,716. This rises to £18,159 if the average is based on households with some form of unsecured loan. In 2008, 136,026 divorces were granted. Add to this the average cost of a funeral in the UK hitting £2,800 (and predicted to be £4,100 by 2015) and you have three reasons why families can find themselves in financial trouble. So what can you do to minimise the risks to your family from the 3Ds – debt, divorce and death?

via Coping with debt, divorce and death | Money | The Observer.