Info & Resources

There are five estate planning documents you may need, regardless of your age, health, or wealth. Read on to learn about each.

Today’s fraudsters are becoming more sophisticated all the time. That is why it is more important than ever to protect your personal information when corresponding online and via email. See this article with tips you can use to promote cybersecurity awareness.

An individual retirement arrangement (IRA) is a personal retirement savings plan that offers specific tax benefits. Read on to learn more.

As a personal representative, you have an obligation to follow the terms of the deceased’s will and a fiduciary duty to the estate and the beneficiaries named in the will. You will need to contact an estate planning attorney to help you understand your duties and help you through the probate process. You are not required to use the same attorney the deceased used.

The beneficiary can use 529 plan account balances at any eligible postsecondary educational institution in the United States or certain schools abroad for qualified expenses. Qualified expenses include tuition, fees, books, computer equipment and technology, and supplies required for enrollment or attendance at the eligible institution.

Keeping these records stored safely, where you and others can find them, can save you time and greatly increases the likelihood that they will not get lost or misfiled.

Married couples have two strategies to choose from to help protect their families from estate taxes. Choosing the appropriate strategy requires an understanding of their advantages and disadvantages.

With these changes, you may think you don’t have as many planning options regarding how to claim your Social Security benefits. Think again! In fact, you have many factors to consider and several choices to make as you begin to formulate your personalized strategy for receiving Social Security benefits.

Naming the beneficiary to your IRA is an important step toward meeting your legacy goals. Unfortunately, many investors take little notice of this step in their financial planning. Consequently, they create situations that do not maximize the benefits their IRA savings might offer these beneficiaries.

A revocable living trust can accomplish a variety of personal, family and tax planning goals. It typically lets you retain complete control of trust assets during your lifetime, but it also lets you appoint someone who will manage your assets for you, either during your lifetime or after your death.

A TOD designation is an agreement between you and a financial institution. In it, you can designate the person(s) who will become owner(s) of the assets in your account upon your death.*

Most of us think of our estate plan as our will or living trust. However, in many cases, those documents have no effect on some of your most important assets. Instead, your beneficiary designations control who will receive those assets.