Board Thread:Skyrim/@comment-124.184.91.160-20140902071722/@comment-88.113.69.102-20140923153041

There´s a bandit waiting for you at your homestead, he/she will approach you engaging conversation.. if you kill him/her before given chance to talk, you should be able to loot a note about it. Killing isn´t recommended though (!), as it most likely will bug the mission: instead leave the bandit be, head immediately where your family is held at (do not enter your house or travel anywhere else, as it may glitch everything), just head to your family and when you´re sure they´re all alive and well, kill the bandits (as they will attack your family).

And yes, the family can be kidnapped from any manor you´re living at.. just I´m not sure if it could happen if you´re spouse is a man. As being married to Farkas several times, we´ve never had any sort of trouble. At first I though it´s just because we´re all are werewolves (me, Farkas and Vilkas), but as the bandits are idiots enough to attack someone they just saw insta-kill a dragon, with their crappy hunting bows, I doubt it :D