Colleges are changing the admissions formula. Goodbye SATs?

You answered a question on the air from a young soon to be married person regarding life insurance. You advised that the standard 1x salary being offered by his employer is probably "enough", but you never asked if he had any outstanding debts. What for example, happens to student loan debt if a person dies? I'm aware that student loan debt can't be discharged in bankruptcy, but can it be discharged in death? Would a surviving spouse then be responsible for the student loan debt? Other debt, I am certain would become the responsibility of the surviving spouse, such as a car loan or credit card debt, but I have no idea what happens with student loan debt…Shouldn't debt also be considered when considering life insurance? We always hear about how do want to "take care of" after death, such as funeral expenses, and supporting our survivors' life style for a period of time or if there's children helping them to pay for their education, but I've never hear anyone speaking of discharging the debt as something that also needs to be "taken care of".

I am retiring on January 1. I have to select how I want my defined pension amount monthly. One option is to have the same amount paid no matter if my wife or I die first. The amount will always stay the same until we both die. The second option is to receive higher amount until one of us die. After that, the amount goes down by one third. The second option would give me about $6,000 more annually, but about $22,000 less when one of us dies. I am thinking about doing the first option to keep pension constant for both of us. Any suggestions?

Two weeks in, what's the status of the state and federal insurance exchanges?

Marketplace Money's personal finance editor Chris Farrell joins the show to answer your questions.

I'm deathly afraid of over-funding my children's 529's for college. Right now we're aggressively funding their 529's to help cover most of their undergraduate educations. However, if either of them don't spend much for college (maybe they go to trade school, earn tons of scholarships, etc.), then we will have this money locked into these 529's and penalties to pay on the way out! Our financial adviser says that the money can always be used for a relative, but I'm not sure I want to give $20,000 to a niece or nephew (who are already well-funded). Should we be saving a portion of college-earmarked funds elsewhere?

When it comes to personal finance, a military-esque dedication to discipline can work well.

Fixing a mistake in your credit report can be frustrating and complicated. Here's a guide to help you know where to go and what to do.

We hear all the time about how expensive adopting a child can be — but what can prospective parents really expect when they start the process?