I’m 45, a father of 2 kids, have no siblings and planned for a large $725K inheritance when my father died — but he left everything to his girlfriend. How can I regain my financial stability?

The reality is that you have no control over whether your parents leave you money, so you should never count on a bequest as part of your financial plan. But you can control what you leave to others — at least to some extent — and, as a starting point, you should shop around for life insurance so that your own loved ones aren't left wondering what to do when you're gone.

Take stock of your current financial situation

When a planned-for inheritance doesn't come through, you may want to reconsider any assumptions about your financial life that you made in the past. Specifically, you can think through what goals you were hoping the inheritance would help you achieve and see where you stand without the influx of cash.

You'll likely need to:

• Take a close look at your debt
• Evaluate your retirement savings progress
• See how much college savings you have for your kids

You should know what your goals are, such as saving 10 times your income for retirement, setting aside $100K for college or becoming debt-free in a decade.

Once you know how much you need to achieve each objective, you may choose to work with a financial advisor and set a monthly savings goal to hit your timeline targets without help from the inheritance.

Implement a fixed savings plan

Once you've taken stock of what you hope to achieve, you can implement a plan for success. For example, you can:

• Make a debt payoff plan to pay extra toward principal
• Contribute to a workplace 401(k) or an IRA
• Open a 529 account for college savings

Once you've decided where you need to save and invest, make it automatic. Have retirement account contributions, 529 contributions and debt payments taken right out of your paycheck or bank account on payday.