Home Retirement Estate Planning Don't Disinherit Your Grandchildren: The Hidden Risks of Retirement Account Beneficiary Forms Standard retirement account beneficiary forms may not be flexible enough ...

You can designate a wide range of heirs for your 401(k) Matt Webber is an experienced personal finance writer, researcher, and editor. He has published widely on personal finance, marketing, and the ...

A secondary beneficiary, also called a contingent beneficiary, is a person or entity entitled to get a distribution of assets from an estate or trust after the estate owner’s death if the primary ...

It's free, simple and secure. Contingent beneficiaries are the people who receive your death benefit if your primary beneficiaries die or become impaired and are unable to claim their benefits. It's ...

Choosing a primary beneficiary - and contingent beneficiaries - is the only way to ensure that your funds are allocated according to your wishes. The per capita designation is usually the default ...

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 ...

When it comes to estate planning, a will or a trust often receives the most attention. However, the simple act of naming a beneficiary to inherit assets in your 401(k), IRA, or savings account, or the ...

Most individuals own assets that will pass upon the death of that individual pursuant to a beneficiary designation. In fact, in many instances, these types of assets make up a large portion of an ...

John Doe has died, leaving a substantial retirement account. Unfortunately, he never named a beneficiary for the account (or he named the “wrong” beneficiary). You are advising his survivors--his ...

Retirement accounts often represent a substantial portion of a client's estate, yet the beneficiary designation forms that control their distribution are too often treated as an afterthought. Estate ...