adopting a 5 year old golden and separating him from his litter mate

Question
I am picking up 2 male 5 year old intact litter mates, that due to unfortunate circumstances, the owner has to surrender.  I can only take one dog, and my sister is taking the other one.  They were left in a crate for 6-8 hours a day together many days, but did live in the house and the owner had a 2,4,7 kids that the dogs were very good with.  Both are trim and healthy, but I plan to neuter mine.  Will the separation of litter mates  and the new home and family need special attention?  What should I do to help him transition?  I also didn't plan to use the crate, have a 5, 8, 13, 17 yr old kids.  Would like him to be part of family in the house and also worry about his age and still being intact.  I was told they never marked in the house or showed any dominance behavior or aggressiveness toward her children.  Is it ok to neuter at this age, and will his personality still be active and happy? Should I wait a certain amount of time before having him neutered?  Thanks

Answer
I have never heard of any problems from neutering a dog at any age except very young ones.  I would go ahead and do it right away.  Have one of your children enroll in 4-H. Even if he is well trained, it is important for your family to be trained.  With somebody the right age in the family, 4-H dog training is a great idea.
In my area, clubs form soon after the first of the year.  Even many urban
areas have 4-H.  For info look in your phone book under government listings
for extension or cooperative extension offices.  Ask specifically about a dog
or canine club.  The dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a
pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog.  Life is much
easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones.  You can learn
to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience
class.  A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/  

I would keep the crate.  It will make the transition much easier for him to have his old den come along.  You may or may not need to ever close him in it.  If there are times he decides he needs a break in the crate, the children must allow him his time out.  Most 5 year olds are past where they will shred stuff, but if he has never been left loose in the house by himself, anything can happen in a new environment.  

I hope you can arrange visits with your sister and his brother.  The 2 will certainly miss each other.  Litter mates allowed to grow up together, become very closely bonded.