Indiana

Every woman should have a credit card in her own name - not as an authorized user under their spouse. It will help with her credit history to buy a car or some other big ticket purchase in the future should her spouse die.

If a woman remarries and has custody of the children, she should consider stipulating in her will that she wants her new spouse to be the guardian in the event of her death, because the children could otherwise go to the other parent.

Those are among the things women might not be aware of in the course of their roles as wife, mother, daughter and businesswoman, but should as part of planning in their best interests for here and in the hereafter, said lawyers Jennifer Taddeo and Michelle Raymond of Doherty, Ciechanowski, Dugan & Cannon of Franklin. The two lawyers offered their advice at a recent forum titled 'What Every Woman Should Know About the Law.'"