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 ...

Designating a beneficiary for a 401 (k) typically occurs when the original plan holder first enrolls or at any point ...

Joint checking accounts allow both parties named on the account to access funds at any time. A "joint with rights of survivorship" gives the surviving joint account owner access to all funds. A "joint ...

Let's say you're self-employed and have a Solo 401(k), or work for a company that offers a retirement plan, such as a traditional 401(k) or 403(b) plan. When you die, what happens to that retirement ...

Naming a bank account beneficiary ensures your money goes straight to your loved ones without getting tied up in costly, time-consuming probate. Most banks let you do this through a “Payable on Death” ...

Banks and other financial institutions don’t automatically ask account holders to designate a beneficiary, so it can be easy to forget or postpone adding a beneficiary until it’s more convenient. But ...

Julia Kagan is a financial/consumer journalist and former senior editor, personal finance, of Investopedia. Marguerita is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor ...

A newly acquired individual retirement account (IRA) is good financial news for the recipient, but clients may need help unraveling the host of rules and requirements regulating how and when ...

When people think about estate planning, they often focus on wills and trusts. But one of the most important decisions about where your money goes after you die might not appear in those documents.

Losing a loved one isn’t just an emotional burden — it also carries an administrative load. There are flower arrangements to pick, eulogies to write and a stream of paperwork to sort through. You can ...