Most Americans believe their will distributes their estate, but that's not the case when it comes to retirement accounts, life insurance, and more.

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 ...

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

Beneficiary designations override your will. Learn how high-earning professionals in Libertyville can avoid costly estate ...

How to secure a disabled child’s financial future.

When was the last time you checked your beneficiary designations? Imagine spending years building your savings and crafting an estate plan, only to have your assets pass to the wrong person. Often, ...

If you have ever been an executor of an estate or if you know someone who has had to deal with a probate estate, you likely know the probate process can be slow, cumbersome and expensive. Fortunately, ...

John Madden would be proud. When I am explaining the difference between probate and nonprobate assets to clients and seminar attendees, I usually produce a diagram that is worthy of the most elaborate ...