<prompt> Human: As the title states, we recently found out that my 60 year old step-dad has Stage IV NHL and bone marrow cancer. Im not sure how long he has and frankly I dont care to know right now. Im still in shock and want to get a jump on planning the finances so that my 56 year old mother and 13 year old sister will be okay. He starts chemotherapy next weekend treatment will be for 6 months and continue to work when he can his construction job pays 100k.His life insurance is worth 130k. It will all go to my mother. He has 2 daughters aged 17 and 24 who live with their mother nearby. Im not certain how much they would get if anything, as he doesnt have many assets but Im certain my mother will give them some of his life insurance money since she is on good terms with the 24 year old. I dont know too much about houses but my mother says that he owns the house but he just refinanced his full mortgage? His house is currently worth 500k.My mother does not have a job currently. Shes not able to do much physically due to the metal rod in her spine she doesnt qualify for disability--weve checked. She also doesnt have a college degree highest is high school equivalent in Vietnam so that also limits her options. Im making plans to meet up with her next weekend to work on her resume and help her apply for some jobs. Her current income is 300week from her former boss tl;dr he didnt pay her when she worked for him so now he owes her for who knows how long--were not looking to sue.I dont believe theres a custody agreement with my sister. She lives with my mother and visits her father on the weekends. I also dont believe theres a formal child support agreement between the two, but he pays my mother 900mo. Theyre both still on good terms which is why I believe theres an informal agreement between the two they got married and then later divorced without telling me which is why Im clueless, not to mention I was only 10 when they married.Im not doing too well financially myself, but I make ends meet. Im 25, work full-time, and rent an apartment with a roommate. I have health insurance under my father, but will have to get my own once I turn 26 in 8 months. I pay all my own bills and student loans which leaves me with about 100-200mo. Im pretty frugal as is so theres not much else for me to cutback on. Ive been looking for a higher paying job only make 45k and plan on moving in with my boyfriend when my lease is up in 3 months which will save me 700-800mo. I was planning on putting that towards the 10k I have in credit card debt but now Im thinking of setting 300 of my potential savings aside for mother and sister.Assuming my step-dad dies within the year and my mother cant find work, what can I do to ensure that my mother and sister are financially stable? I have 5k in savings and am not enrolled in my companys 401k program. Id like to have at least 3k in savings as an emergency fund. Can my mother sell the house if theres still a full mortgage on it? If so, I think the best option would be for her to sell it and move closer to me I live in the city and she lives in a very rural area so we can share a small apartment together.Im sorry I dont have much information to provide. Im still very frazzled right now and dont want to bother my mother while shes processing all this information right now. I can get more info later though.  <response>: Your step-dad needs to make a will, listing his assets and how he wishes them to be distributed. He should also discuss his wishes with all of his relatives, to avoid surprises later on. Having that all spelled out will greatly simplify things if your step-dad passes. Otherwise, youre potentially looking at endless court battles if not everyone agrees on what is fair.Other than that, it sounds like you have a good handle on finances. Maybe increase your emergency fund a bit, to give yourself more buffer while the estate is being settled.Your mother definitely could sell a house that has a mortgage. In that case, any proceeds would first go to pay off the mortgage and the agents commissionsfees, and your mother would get whatever is left. 