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 ...

Probate is a legal process that verifies the validity of a deceased person’s will. This includes addressing debts and distributing remaining assets. If you die without a will or a living trust, ...

Charlene Rhinehart is a CPA , CFE, chair of an Illinois CPA Society committee, and has a degree in accounting and finance from DePaul University. Suzanne is a content marketer, writer, and ...

With either a transfer-on-deth or a payable-on-death account, you are in control. The assets in the account pass directly to your named beneficiary and bypass probate, the court proceeding that ...

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Q: My elderly mother has a will stating that her estate, which consists solely of a small amount of money, shall be divided equally between her three children. This will was written a long time ago. I ...

When I was presenting before a group of Stamford seniors last week, I realized many members of the audience were not familiar with "transfer on death" or "TOD" brokerage account registrations. I ...

Both TOD and POD accounts are quick and dirty ways of avoiding probate, which can be slow, expensive, public and possibly messy. Financial institutions offer TOD and POD at their discretion. But, ...