More and more families have stepchildren as the result of second and third marriages, which has sparked an increase in contested wills around the country. Tension can rise when a family member who holds a family together passes away, often a parent who has children with different spouses.  From an estate planning standpoint, perhaps the wisest course is to distribute assets separately.  That way, stepchildren are not financially intertwined with each other.

The rules on getting help from the federal government to pay for nursing home expenses have been tightened, making it harder for senior citizens to qualify for long term care payments. With the average nursing home stay between two and three years at an average annual cost of $74,000, this could become a daunting financial burden for some seniors.  The federal government has toughened the rules designed to prevent individuals from transferring assets to family members,