Estate planning is part of comprehensive financial planning. It includes making a will. If you don't make a will before your death, you will die intestate. In that case, your assets will be ...

A strong estate plan is the only way to control your money after you die, whether it be a will or trust.

Think estate planning can wait? Here’s the thing: putting off or delaying estate planning can leave your loved ones in a difficult position. Among the issues is passing away without a will, one of ...

If you die without a will, you die "intestate," and your state's intestacy statute — not your wishes — decides who inherits. The typical pattern: everything or a large share to a surviving spouse, ...

It's common. Some assume their family will simply "figure it out," or that everyone already knows what they would have wanted. Unfortunately, that's not how the legal system works. When someone dies ...

Mystatewill.com is a remarkable website that provides information relating to the intestate distribution of a decedent’s estate according to the decedent’s personal and financial circumstances. It ...

Probate Initiation: An interested party, often a family member or creditor, petitions the probate court to open an intestate estate. Appointment of Administrator: The court appoints an administrator ...

Suze Orman says estate planning hinges on four must-have legal documents, from wills and trusts to healthcare powers, that can protect your finances and wishes.

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Matthew F. Erskine is a trusts and estates attorney. A common misconception is that the absence of a will is a problem. In reality ...