You cannot name a legal minor as a beneficiary. This applies to almost all legal documents, most notably wills and life insurance policies. The significant exception to this rule is trusts. You can ...

One of the most important aspects of estate planning is choosing who you’d like to be your beneficiaries. A beneficiary is someone who is named to receive a financial gift from an estate or a specific ...

If you think a will or trust will ensure that your IRA or 401(k) assets go to the person you want after your death, think again. The beneficiaries you list on these accounts will take precedence over ...

While the execution of wills requires formalities like witnesses and a notary, the reality is that most property passes to heirs through other, less formal means. Many bank and investments accounts, ...

Naming someone who will inherit your brokerage account after you pass away can be a smart estate-planning move. Here's how to do it.Image source: Getty Images. Stock investors know that a brokerage ...

Advertising disclosure: When you use our links to explore or buy products we may earn a fee, but that in no way affects our editorial independence. A life insurance beneficiary is the person or entity ...

Most working Americans use an Investment Retirement Account (IRA) as their main vehicle for retirement planning. If your client also chooses an IRA to leave assets to their family, naming a trust as ...

DALLAS — A will is one of those things that a lot of us put off as long as possible. All that paperwork, those details, the intimidating legalese, and thinking about dying –they’re all good reasons to ...

In Transamerica Life Ins. Co. v. Quarm, Thomas Quarm obtained a life insurance policy and designated his mother as his beneficiary and his brother, Nicholas, as the alternate beneficiary. No. EP-16-CV ...

Do yourself a favor: Check the heirs named on your IRA or 401(k) retirement plans. Then check your parents’ accounts. A lot is riding on these designations, and it’s easy for life to outrun planning ...

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