Wow. So many stories of family rifts over stupid money. It's sad. Unfortunately, there always seems to be someone somewhere who puts money before their own relations. And family ties often come with tight knots, so it seems.

On long term financial planning, which is always a fantastic thing to do, make sure to keep up with tax and inheritance laws. My wife's grandmother kept money for her in a trust for years, but she didn't keep up with the stipulations of the trust, which resulted in a pretty substantial loss on withdrawal by the time my wife even knew about it. Her grandmother, had she still been living, would have been heartbroken.