From Michael Jackson's kids to second marriages and younger wives, this week's "Ask the Experts" questions are all about family. As part of our online team of experts, Sacramento estate planning attorney Mark S. Drobny offers the answers.

To see more questions – or to ask your own of our other local experts on financial planning, investments or taxes, go to: www.sacbee.com/ask.

Reading about the Michael Jackson custody case has me very worried. I have two children, ages 8 and 5. I own a home and have significant investments. We have not seen my children's father since I divorced him shortly after my second child was born. The court awarded me sole physical custody and their father pays no child support. My will names my mother as guardian. I'm now worried their father could contest my will and seek custody of my children and control of my estate. Please tell me this isn't true.

As we are about to see in Mr. Jackson's case, whenever money or children are involved, years of litigation can follow, even when there is a valid will.

Your cases have remarkable similarities:

One parent has sole physical custody; the other parent has not been involved in the children's lives for years; and the custodial parent has a will naming someone other than a biological parent as guardian.

The bad news is that anyone can sue anyone for just about anything. The good news: To win, the plaintiff must meet the burden of proof.

A will can be set aside by the court if: It does not comply with legal requirements, if the deceased lacked capacity or if the will was obtained by fraud or undue influence. None of the above appears to apply in your case or Mr. Jackson's.

However, the surviving biological parent generally has priority to serve as guardian of any minor children and their estate upon the death of one parent unless: that minor child was adopted by another, the biological parent waived parental rights or that parent is deemed unfit to serve. The court's overriding obligation is to do what is in the children's best interests.

The fact that you were granted sole physical custody, that your children's father has not been involved in their lives and that you have nominated your mother (who presumably has been very involved) makes it highly unlikely (but not impossible) that their biological parent would be appointed their guardian.

To minimize the possibility of their father filing a claim in the event of your untimely death, you could have him sign a legal waiver of his parental rights through his own attorney.

I am a senior and have a living trust, leaving everything to my children. I am getting married to a woman 10 years younger. What effect will marriage have on my living trust?

Congratulations on your upcoming marriage.

You need to amend your trust to clarify what, if anything, you intend to provide for your new wife. If you don't, she may acquire a financial interest in your estate under California law.

Here are some key issues to consider: If she is moving into your home, you clearly need to state what rights she would have, if any, to continue residing in the home upon your death. You also need to clarify what items, if any, she would be entitled to from the home. What support, if any, do you intend to provide for her upon your death?

In my 29 years as an estate attorney, I can assure you that failure to clarify these issues has led to countless lawsuits between second spouses and children from first marriages.

Not to kill the mood, but I recommend giving serious consideration to a premarital agreement to clarify these issues. While you can do so in an amendment to your existing trust, your fiancée doesn't sign it and would not be obligated by it. But she must sign a premarital agreement, after consulting her own legal counsel.

The other benefit is that your children will get along much better with your fiancée when they know she signed a prenuptial agreement. That tells them she is marrying dad because she loves him and not for the inheritance.

– Compiled by Claudia Buck