NEW YORK (MONEY Magazine) - The details of our financial lives can be devilishly tricky, and without a clear road map it's easy to feel lost.

Marriages form and re-form. Couples sign contracts or create households without any legal structure at all. Single parents raise children on their own. Children take care of parents. And in all our homes, throughout the tumult of jobs and bills and preparing for emergencies, one note always rings true -- that, more than anything, cherishing one's family is what money is for.

In this special report, MONEY Magazine address the here-and-now questions that take center stage in our lives -- everything from having enough life insurance or naming an executor in a will to figuring out the best way to save for college or what to pay the babysitter.

Read on for the answers.

When you're in love, life is great. Then, inevitably, the money questions start cropping up. What are the financial ramifications of marriage? (or worse yet, the consequences of divorce?) Should spouses have separate bank accounts? We outline the costs of everything from fertility treatments and adoption to baby-sitters. (Click here to see this section.)

It's unpleasant and nobody likes to talk about it, but everbody needs an estate plan. To help, we answer 7 key questions to help you with various issues, such as choosing an executor for your estate and guardians for your kids. And if it ever comes to this, we even show you how to disinherit a family member. (Click here to see this section.)

A household, it seems, can be tougher to run than a small business. Is your family spending too much? When is the right time to give your kid a credit card? And, of course, the mark of a good business is stability -- are you prepared for an unexpected setback, such as an illness or job loss? (Click here to see this section.)