Ask Money

I have a niece and nephew in their early 20s who have both recently started their own families. I know they do not have a will, advanced directive or a living trust because they are intimidated by the idea and cost of hiring an attorney to draw up the paperwork. Instead of a gift card this year, I would love to help make sure their assets and children are protected. Is there an easy/affordable product or site online I can use to help get them situated? Jeff, Cincinnati, OH

My husband and I have extra money each month, a healthy emergency savings account, and we save for retirement through our work plans. (I should point out we are in our 20s.) We recently bought a home and now have a mortgage of $130,000 at 4 percent interest. We also have approximately $80,000 in student loan debt for our graduate degrees at 6.8 percent interest. With our extra spending money each month, should we tackle the student loan debt first? Pay down the mortgage? Both? Or some other option? Carolyn, Duluth, MN

I understand that your credit score is affected by the percentage of your available credit that you use. However, does this reflect the total percentage of the total available, or is it specific to each line of credit? Gabriel, Somerville, MA

How do we deal with an inheritance in an intelligent and fiscally sound manner? Thank you! Steve, Drexel Hill, PA

Recently, I got married. I increased the credit line on one of my three credit cards and charged a lot of money on two of the cards. One, I basically stopped using, but it is open. I also had a lot of credit checks done as I was applying for financing a car. I leased a car and started renting an apartment. Now, when I started looking for a mileage credit card so my wife and I can better earn miles to travel, I found that my credit score has decreased and my applications are being denied. How can I rebuild my score after all these credit checks. Should I cancel the card I don't use? Thanks! Adam, Los Angeles, CA

Tess Vigeland and Liz Pulliam Weston of MSN answer listeners' personal finance questions.

We have a student loan for our daughter of about $120,000. Should we use our retirement funds to pay it off? Our house will be paid off in 5 years and we have about $20,000 in revolving debt. Please advise. Thanks. James, Houston, TX

I have a lousy credit score and am taking steps to improve it. In the meantime, I need to get a prepaid credit or debit card so I can pay for things like airfares, rental cars, hotel reservations, etc. Can you suggest the best prepaid card to go with? My initial Internet search for said cards resulted in a headache trying to figure out if these companies were a good deal or just a consumer nightmare. Any help is greatly appreciated. Mark, Duluth, MN

I keep hearing talk about "mark-to-market" asset valuation. What does mark-to-market really mean? Steve, Las Vegas, NV