LOOKING AFTER YOUR parents or other elderly family members? In all likelihood, it’s a team effort, with perhaps your siblings involved and others whom you have hired. To help matters run more smoothly, consider these steps:
Create a list of experts. Pull together the names and contact information for doctors, dentists, lawyers, tax preparers, financial advisors and anybody else who assists your parents. Make sure your siblings and other caregivers have the list.

YOU CAN LEARN MORE about preparing for retirement and generating retirement income in the chapter on retirement. But here are some additional steps you might take in the year or two before you quit your job:
Check the employee handbook. By delaying retirement by just a few weeks or months, you may qualify to get cashed out on vacation days for the current year or to receive money held in the company’s deferred compensation plan.

IF YOU’RE A U.S. CITIZEN working in a foreign country, you will face all kinds of financial hassles—many of them unavoidable. Don’t want to add to your headaches? Try to keep your finances as simple as possible, by limiting the number of financial institutions you deal with and the number of investments you own.
Even though you work abroad, you have to file a U.S. tax return each year declaring your worldwide income. The filing deadline is typically June 15,

IT MAY BE APPEALING to work for yourself, but it also comes with a hefty price tag. Here are some of the costs you’ll face.
Higher payroll taxes. If you’re self-employed, you have to pay both the employee’s 7.65% Social Security and Medicare payroll tax and the employer’s 7.65% contribution, though you can take a tax deduction for the employer’s portion.
Health insurance. You’ll need to purchase your own health insurance,

IF YOU LOSE YOUR JOB, you may want to consolidate your 401(k) money in an IRA and you might continue your current health benefits by taking advantage of COBRA coverage, just like those who are changing jobs. But also consider these other steps:
Prep your finances for hard times. If you have an inkling that layoffs are in the works, save whatever you can, pay back 401(k) loans, and trim the balance on your credit cards and home equity line of credit.

IF YOU CHANGE JOBS, it’s likely for a more enjoyable or more senior position—and it may mean more money. But don’t focus just on the size of your new paycheck. Also give some thought to your new job’s health, life and disability insurance, as well as the retirement benefits.
Health insurance. If it will take a few months before you are eligible for health care coverage at your new job, you might be able to continue your old employer’s health benefits by taking advantage of so-called COBRA coverage.

MY FIRST MARRIAGE didn’t turn out so well. But the divorce has been surprisingly successful.
When Molly and I separated in 1998, we quickly agreed that we should make the divorce as amicable and inexpensive as possible. The math was obvious—every $100 we spent on legal fees meant $50 less for each of us—and figuring out a fair way to split our assets wasn’t especially difficult. For $500, a local lawyer turned our plan into a formal agreement and helped us with the child support calculations.

WHILE DIVORCES OFTEN trigger endless wrangling, there’s less room for maneuver than you might imagine because much depends on state law:
Community vs. common law states. There are nine community property states: Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin. Couples in Alaska can also create community property if they opt to enter into a community property agreement. In a community property state, the wealth acquired during the course of the marriage is considered equally owned by you and your spouse,

IN A DIVORCE, YOU should be able to keep any assets you owned at the time of the marriage, plus any gifts and inheritances you received while married. What about other assets acquired during the marriage? How those are divided will depend on state law, especially whether you live in a community property or common law state. Even then, it’s important to pay close attention to the financial details:
Get all joint debts paid off.

IF YOU’RE GETTING divorced, be careful—but also try to be civil. Here are some steps to take in the initial weeks after the breakup:
Draw up a financial inventory. Make copies of financial account statements, tax returns, pay stubs and anything else that documents your collective income, assets and debts. Create a list of valuable household items. You might even photograph them or make a video. Don’t discount the possibility that your spouse is hiding assets.

WHEN YOU SEND YOUR teenagers off to college, you might include four tools in their financial backpack: a checking account, credit card, renter’s insurance—and some sound advice.
Checking accounts. Favor checking accounts where your kids won’t get charged a monthly maintenance fee and where they have access to a large number of fee-free ATMs at both college and home. Also make sure the account is set up so your children can’t overdraw,

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU are part of a same-sex couple and you have a child—but you aren’t the adopting or biological parent? Even though same-sex marriage is now legal in all 50 states, parental rights are likely to remain a tricky issue, so be sure to seek advice from a qualified attorney.
Apply for a second-parent adoption. If you aren’t the adopting or biological parent, you may not have any rights if you get divorced or were never married,

ONCE A BABY ARRIVES, you quickly discover two things are in short supply: time and money. According to the Department of Agriculture’s Expenditures on Children by Families study released in January 2017, it costs $233,610 for a middle-income family to raise a child through age 17, figured in today’s dollars. Annual costs in the first three years are pegged at $12,680. How can you prepare your finances?
Stockpile cash. The more you have in a savings account,

THANKS TO THE Supreme Court’s June 2015 decision, same-sex marriage is now legal in all 50 states. If you take advantage, you’ll discover that there are some financial pitfalls to being married—but also some notable advantages:
Employee benefits. Many employers extended health and other benefits to their employees’ unmarried partners, in part because gay and lesbian couples couldn’t previously marry. Now that same-sex marriage is legal, employers may be less inclined to offer benefits to unmarried partners,

IF YOU DECIDE TO marry, you’ll have a lifetime of financial decisions ahead of you. But there are some items you should probably tackle right away:
Budget the wedding. Weddings are said to cost more than $30,000 on average. An obvious question: Wouldn’t it make more sense to opt for the cheaper wedding and save the rest for longer-term goals?
Get to know each other financially. Find out how much you each save regularly and have set aside for retirement,