ESTATE PLANNING: Do non-married couples need to plan?

Q: My partner and I have been living together for almost 10 years. Is there anything special that we need to add to our wills?

LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER

The Times Shore Best of the Region contest is about 20 years old---we always have to give or take a few years with that number, we have occasionally taken a year off, back in the day before digital balloting---and takes on added importance each year as competition grows and our voters and ma…

EYE ON THE PIE: Where to put your money in troubled times

Snail Smith’s real name is Stanley, but his contorted windup and slow pitches gave him the nickname, Snail, during his short baseball career.

Bridal shop now offers tuxes, expanded hours

VALPARAISO | Here Comes the Dress, 3907 Calumet Ave., Suite 202, Valparaiso, has added tuxedo rental services.

Majority of number combos picked for Powerball pot

A clerk dispenses a Powerball Lottery ticket in Oklahoma City, Friday, May 17, 2013. Powerball officials say the jackpot has climbed to an estimated $600 million, making it the largest prize in the game's history and the world's second largest lottery prize.(AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Majority of number combos picked for Powerball pot

A sign at a store advertises the Powerball Lottery in Oklahoma City, Friday, May 17, 2013. Powerball officials say the jackpot has climbed to an estimated $600 million, making it the largest prize in the game's history and the world's second largest lottery prize. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Majority of number combos picked for Powerball pot

A Powerball lottery ticket is printed out of a lottery machine at a convenience store in Chicago on Saturday, May 18, 2013. A little more than a year after three tickets split a world-record lottery prize, the jackpot for Saturday's Powerball drawing was nearing historic territory. Should no…

Majority of number combos picked for Powerball pot

DES MOINES, Iowa | Powerball is a game of numbers, and lottery officials say the majority of possible combinations have already been purchased ahead of Saturday night's near-historic $600 million drawing.

Majority of number combos picked for Powerball pot

A customer, right, waits for his Powerball lottery ticket at a convenience store in Chicago on Saturday, May 18, 2013. A little more than a year after three tickets split a world-record lottery prize, the jackpot for Saturday's Powerball drawing was nearing historic territory. Should nobody …

South Shore CVA receives three awards

HAMMOND | The South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority received three awards recognizing its newly updated website and the 2012 South Shore Air Show event poster.

Parking fees at California state beaches heat up

With the unofficial kickoff to summer looming, the issue of parking at California state beaches is heating up.

Marine daughter seeks dignity for `Devil Dog pups'

Mary Blakely clears dirt and grass from a 60-year-old temporary tin marker in the "Babyland" section of Onslow Memorial Park in Jacksonville, N.C. on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013. The Marine's daughter scoured this and other graveyards for the names of children who may have died because of conta…

Marine daughter seeks dignity for `Devil Dog pups'

A crumbling tin plaque marks the grave of an infant buried during the 1950s in the "Babyland" section of Onslow Memorial Park in Jacksonville, N.C. on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013. Mary Blakely, a Marine's daughter, has scoured this and other cemeteries for the names of children who may have die…

Marine daughter seeks dignity for `Devil Dog pups'

Entries for nameless infants cover the "babyland" page of a burial register at Onslow Memorial Park in Jacksonville, N.C., on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013. Many of these were the children of Marines stationed at nearby Camp Lejeune, site of one of the worst cases of drinking water contamination …

Marine daughter seeks dignity for `Devil Dog pups'

A certificate of fetal death sits atop a file box in the trunk of Mary Blakely's van parked at a cemetery in Jacksonville, N.C., on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013. The Marine's daughter scoured local cemeteries and death records for the names of children who may have died because of water contamin…

Marine daughter seeks dignity for `Devil Dog pups'

This undated photo provided by Mary Blakely shows her as a child with her mother, Mary, and her father, James Leake, background, in Germany while he was stationed at Bremihaven just prior to leaving for Camp Lejeune. Blakely was 6 in 1969 when her dad was stationed "aboard" Camp Lejeune the …

Marine daughter seeks dignity for `Devil Dog pups'

As she flipped through the cemetery register, Mary Blakely's eyes filled with tears. On line after line, the entry read simply "Baby Boy" or "Baby Girl," followed by a surname and a burial date.

24-hour curfew in Nigeria city in military push

Nigeria's military has declared a 24-hour curfew in several neighborhoods of a northeastern city as its campaign against Islamic extremists in the region continues.

Rescuers spot bodies at collapsed Indonesian mine

In this photo taken and released by PT Freeport Indonesia Friday, May 17, 2013, the Indonesian unit of Arizona-based Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc, rescuers gather inside a tunnel that collapsed on Tuesday morning as they continue their attempt to rescue trapped workers at Big Gossa…

Rescuers spot bodies at collapsed Indonesian mine

In this photo taken and released by PT Freeport Indonesia, Friday, May 17, 2013, the Indonesian unit of Arizona-based Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc, rescuers gather inside a tunnel that collapsed on Tuesday morning as they continue their attempt to rescue trapped workers at Big Goss…

Rescuers spot bodies at collapsed Indonesian mine

Rescuers searching for 23 trapped workers at a giant U.S.-owned gold and copper mine in Indonesia spotted six bodies Saturday but weren't able to immediately retrieve them because of falling debris, a company official said.

SPIN METER: GOP raps Dems for IRS union cash

House Ways and Means Committee member Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., center, questions the ousted head of the Internal Revenue Service Steven Miller, lower right, as the Republican-run committee held a hearing on the extra scrutiny the Internal Revenue Service gave Tea Party and other conservative …

SPIN METER: GOP raps Dems for IRS union cash

Seeking maximum political gain from the string of controversies swirling around the White House, Republicans are on the attack against Democratic lawmakers who accepted donations from the union that represents Internal Revenue Service employees.

Serena Williams reaches Italian Open final

Serena Williams, of the United States, returns the ball to Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro during their match at the Italian Open tennis tournament in Rome, Friday, May 17, 2013. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca)

Serena Williams reaches Italian Open final

Serena Williams, of the United States, returns the ball to Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro during their match at the Italian Open tennis tournament in Rome, Friday, May 17, 2013. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca)