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If you've got a life partner but no marriage certificate, estate planning is a must. Without it, neither of you will inherit from each other—and neither of you will have a say in the other's end-of-life medical care. If you die without a valid will, state law will dictate where your solely owned property goes after your death, and it won't go to an unmarried partner. Instead, if you have no children, your closest relatives, including your parents, would inherit.

According to one estimate, about a quarter of all marriages and nearly two-thirds (63%) of remarriages involve stepchildren. No matter how loving and successful, such arrangements often pose unique personal and financial challenges that may only intensify as wealth transfers from one generation to the next. For these reasons, careful estate planning, while highly recommended for any family, is especially vital for blended ones.

A second marriage can be a balm for the heartache of losing a spouse, be it through death or divorce. Most people mean well: They want their spouse to inherit their possessions when they die, and their heirs to split what's left when the spouse dies. And they want everyone, including their children and their spouse's children, to be happy. No one wants a brawl to break out when the will is read. Here are five ways to prevent that.

If you are considering a divorce, it’s critical to understand the impact of your divorce on what would happen in the event of your incapacity or death, either during the divorce or after. Unfortunately, most divorce lawyers do not give any thought to incapacity or death, simply because they do not have training on these issues specifically and it’s not at the forefront of their minds when they are advising you through your divorce.

When a marriage is falling apart, the first thing on your mind probably isn’t your estate plan – but it is something you’ll have to consider soon. Not only is it important to address issues of inheritance, but you also need to address concerns like who has your powers of attorney and health care proxies. If it’s currently your spouse, that could lead to unintended consequences for you and a lot of personal distress for your loved ones.

Beyond the emotional impact that divorce can have on couples of any age that decide to split, it can have a potentially devastating effect on the retirement plans of those who divorce later in life. Divorce after 50 usually results in a loss of income for both parties, which can mean working longer to fund a single retirement.