The concept of a Goldie extending module is generalized to a Goldie extending element in a lattice. An element $a$ of a lattice $L$ with $0$ is said to be a Goldie extending element if and only if for every $b\le a$ there exists a direct summand $c$ of $a$ such that $b\wedge c$ is essential in both $b$ and $c$. Some properties of such elements are obtained in the context of modular lattices. We give a necessary condition for the direct sum of Goldie extending elements to be Goldie extending. Some characterizations of a decomposition...