When former Kellogg’s CFO Charles Elliott passed away in 2022, he left behind a carefully planned estate – with one flaw.

It can be an individual, a charity or a trust that you've set up. You can have one beneficiary for an account or other asset, or divide it among several. Beneficiaries are different from heirs ...

You might think you’re covering all bases by creating a will, but you may want to branch out to other options.

For example, the beneficiary, as the controlling trustee, could make all investment decisions. Investments such as a home or brokerage account would be held in the name of the trust and would be ...

A better option than naming your minor children directly as beneficiaries is to establish a trust account as the 401(k)'s beneficiary and your children as the beneficiaries of the trust.

Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Matthew F. Erskine is a trusts and estates attorney. The FDIC has issued final regulations that, as of April 1, 2024, will change how bank ...

Christy Bieber has a JD from UCLA School of Law and began her career as a college instructor and textbook author. She has been writing full time for over a decade with a focus on making financial ...

Like retirement accounts, however, you can name the trust as the primary or secondary beneficiary. Active financial accounts. It is not advisable to transfer accounts you use to actively pay your ...

“Generally speaking, if there is a beneficiary designation on a bank account, this overrides the estate plan, including the last will and testament and/or revocable living trust.” If there is ...

A spendthrift trust allows you to leave funds to a beneficiary without giving full control over those funds. Instead, an independent trustee is given the authority to distribute funds for the ...

A significant portion of 401(k) savings is passed to beneficiaries after the account holder passes away. Choosing a beneficiary for a 401(k) requires careful consideration of factors like age and ...