Divorce may not automatically remove your ex from every account. See which beneficiary designations could still determine who ...

Probating an estate is an expensive, time-consuming and sometimes adversarial affair. It is possible, and sometimes advisable, to avoid probate. With the help of an estate planner and, perhaps, an ...

When you die, estate planners say, one of the finest gifts you can leave your heirs is a plan for avoiding probate. Probate is a legal process that distributes a dead person's assets and settles their ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Bob Carlson researches all facets of retirement finances. About 70% of U.S. adults don’t have a will or trust, according to ...

Most Americans know the folly of dying without a will. Under the widely different state formulas devised for such cases, a widow can lose one-half of her husband’s estate to his relatives. Equally ...

Learn how to set up a Payable on Death (POD) account to designate beneficiaries for your bank accounts and avoid probate.

But what if there is no will? According to LexisNexis, 55 percent of people die without either a will or a trust. Sometimes they assume everything will somehow magically work out the way they expect.

The popularity of living trusts has spread to the point that now many states, most notably California, have promulgated laws recognizing and regulating trusts. There is a model Uniform Trust Code that ...

It's not only natural to be thinking about what will happen to your property after you die. It's also smart. For Tennesseans who want to spare their heirs the time and expense of going through probate ...