A variety of financial accounts, including retirement plans and life insurance, allow individuals to designate beneficiaries. Whoever is named on a beneficiary designation form will receive those ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Bob Carlson researches all facets of retirement finances. Beneficiary designations are one of the major gaps in many retirement ...

Wondering whether retirement accounts go through probate? In most cases, they don’t — thanks to beneficiary designations.. Retirement accounts like IRAs, 401(k)s and annuities typically bypass probate ...

Understanding the difference between per stirpes and per capita can determine whether your grandchildren receive an ...

When you open a retirement account or buy a life insurance policy, you’re asked to name a beneficiary. It might seem like just another form to fill out, but this ...

As of mid-2024, individual retirement accounts collectively held $16.2 trillion of assets, according to a March report from the Investment Company Institute. But many investors overlook beneficiary ...

Thomas J. Brock is a CFA and CPA with more than 20 years of experience in various areas including investing, insurance portfolio management, finance and accounting, personal investment and financial ...

Estate-planning discussions often focus on wills and trusts, yet some of the most consequential decisions receive far less attention, such as how accounts are titled and who’s listed as the ...

Love may fade, but beneficiary designations do not. That was the hard lesson learned in a legal dispute between a man’s estate and his ex-spouse ...

A beneficiary designation is a document — usually a simple form — that tells a financial institution or insurance company who ...

Income taxes are taxes that are collected on the individual earnings of persons or entities. Depending on the jurisdiction, income taxes are calculated and collected ...