Would taking extra steps to establish a more thoughtful estate plan prevent the family battles so common these days? That’s the question addressed at a recent continuing education program I moderated. Ruth Dixon-Mueller, a sociologist and author of 2017’s fascinating Passing On: What’s Fair in Family Inheritance?, and Frederick Hertz, a Bay Area attorney and mediator, weighed in on the…

In the United States, approximately 40 percent of all married couples with children are blended families. That means that in each of these households, at least one-half of the couple is helping to raise their spouse’s children. The question is often raised, what rights do step-parents have when it comes to their step-children, not only in their daily lives, but…