Estate planning is the process of putting a legal plan in place so that in the event of your death or disability, your affairs will be managed in accordance with your wishes and will save your family headache and money.

It is generally a good idea to have a named beneficiary of a retirement account, like a Traditional IRA or 401(k) or other tax deferred retirement account because a named beneficiary is able to stretch distributions more than an estate can, mitigating the income tax due from the distributions.

Generally, I advise against this arrangement. There are two primary reasons for my position.

Creating estate planning documents is only part of the process. Equally important is ensuring that the right people know where the documents are located and can access them when needed.

Making a gift to a charity in your estate plan is a wonderful way to give back. Today's blog post will talk about the basics of charitable giving.

When putting together an estate plan, it is essential to review the accounts and determine the best way to leave them to loved ones.