RAW ultimately gives you absolute control. You are not relying on what your camera THINKS is the best way to handle the image. You do it all yourself. And, RAW allows you control exposure, white balance, and even vibrance much better than on a JPG where much of the image information is already lost and the image may be more compressed than you think.

In terms of when to use what, I think it’s quality vs. quantity. If you are just doing standard run of the mill family photos with minimal processing if any and you’re not as interested in quality as much as having a good set of images to preserve the memory of the event, then go for JPG.

But if you’re going to be shooting a bunch but then weeding out only the best. Say at a 10% return rate and you will work on each one to get the best photo possible that fits your vision and your mind’s eye? Then you are doing a disservice if you shoot in anything other than RAW. It gives you the highest degree of control to achieve an end result that you truly want without any compromise.