Life is complicated these days. And if you’re part of the sandwich generation, with a parent 65 or older and either raising a child under 18 or supporting an adult child, then calling life complicated may feel like a ridiculous understatement. But while being squeezed in the middle will never be easy, there are a few steps you can take to manage your financial and emotional risks.

Are you caught in the middle between supporting children and caring for aging parents? At a time when your career is reaching a peak and you are looking ahead to your own retirement, you may find yourself having to help your children with college expenses or supporting them during a job search while also looking after the needs of your aging parents. Squeezed in the middle, you've joined the ranks of the "sandwich generation."

There are times when imagining the worst-case scenario helps you prepare most effectively for the best case. The transition of a family or closely-held business is one of those times.

Ask yourself, why is it that while Harvard Business School reports at least half of all companies in the US are family businesses - and just over half of all publicly listed companies in the US are family owned - that the most-cited family business statistic is from John Ward’s seminal study finding only 30% of firms survive through the second generation, 13% survive the third generation, and only 3% survive beyond that?

The Family Business Institute identifies a major cause as the failure to imagine and plan for worst-case situations that could dramatically affect not only ownership succession, but management succession planning and leadership development as well.

Retirement plans demonstrate the wisdom of the proverb “two heads are better than one” — a proverb that always brings to mind the music from the classic Sesame Street video. Now the “two heads” can be you and your spouse, or you and your financial advisor, but you can also benefit from encouraging a dialogue between the income-you and the spending-you.

Financial headlines can be hazardous to your sleep health in retirement. It is easy to get the jitters and start worrying that you should do something, anything but stay on your current financial course. Yet it rarely makes sense to panic and sell your holdings. Over the years I have developed a list of five ways to help you avoid the sleepless nights in retirement that financial headlines can bring.

Surprisingly, dealing with sudden wealth can become a nightmare. Learn the five steps you can take immediately to successfully manage the financial and emotional crises that can come with sudden wealth.

People come into financial windfalls in a number of ways:

• Lottery
• Sale of Business
• Stock options
• Inheritance

Businesses start with the best of intentions. While beginnings are an exciting time, a strong business foundation needs to include planning for multiple future scenarios and potential “what-ifs,” including business transition and succession. Unfortunately, many business owners don’t plan for their end game.

Talking with your kids about money changes as they get older and as you get younger (of course). If this has been a conversation you have shared since they were young, it’s natural to continue to discuss financial matters as the years go on. In a perfect world this would be the way it is all the time. Unfortunately, the opposite is often true.

Know that you are not alone if you toss and turn as you try to fall asleep. In 'Part 1', we focused on the financial concerns of a married couple with young children, but noted that the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index shows 61 percent of Americans worry about how to manage their economic life to reduce stress and increase security. That’s a lot of worrying going on!

Many people in their 70s are retired. Whether you're one of them or not, it doesn't mean you should stop your financial planning – in fact it means you should pay even more attention as finances in your 70s offer more opportunities (and risks) now than ever before. Here are seven tips to help make sure you're well prepared for your 70s and beyond.