Question: We set up an irrevocable trust last year with our daughter, age 50, as beneficiary and trustee. The asset was an apartment building in California which is 100% paid. We would like to [...]

Question: My husband is 77 and I also will be 77 in five days. What if we pulled all our money out of my husband’s 401(k) (~$200,000) and my IRA (~$30,000) and put the cash into our home [...]

Question: I am a non-US citizen married to a US citizen who recently died. What is the procedure for me to inherit my late husband’s IRA? I am the executor of his will, which leaves his [...]

When you get a job with benefits, you may well be offered a 401(k) plan and/or life insurance. Even if you’re just getting started in your career, name beneficiaries who would receive these [...]

Question: I would like to leave my 401k, IRAs, etc. to my family in the Philippines. What is the best and easiest way to do this? Should I show them as beneficiaries or should I just have a [...]

Question: I am a divorced 60-year-old man. I will pay child support for about the next nine years. I have four children ages 13 to 22. I have a revocable living trust. But there seems to be a gap [...]

Consumers are often confused about the difference between estate and financial planning, and for good reason. Even professionals in these fields may use these terms interchangeably and sometimes [...]

Charities often encourage donors to make gifts of retirement plans due to the tax benefits of doing so. Retirement plans, of course, are taxed when the funds are withdrawn. But, non-profit [...]

There are a lot of reasons you may want some or all of your retirement plan assets to go into trust for the benefit of your heirs, including: Estate tax planning. In a second (or subsequent) [...]

If you inherit an IRA or other retirement plan (401(k) or 403(b)), the rules on when you have to take your required minimum distributions can be complicated unless you are the spouse of the [...]