Katharine Paljug is a financial writer and editor with over a decade of industry experience. Her writing has covered nearly every aspect of the financial world, from investing in forex to paying for ...

Choosing a primary beneficiary - and contingent beneficiaries - is the only way to ensure that your funds are allocated according to your wishes. The per capita designation is usually the default ...

When creating an estate plan, one of the most basic documents you may wish to include is a will. If you have a more complicated estate, you might also need to have a trust in place. Both a will and a ...

The new system is known both as "representation," and "per capita at each generation," and is taken from the Uniform Probate Code. It has two basic principles, which are illustrated by the examples ...

What is a beneficiary? Perhaps the clearest definition comes from the Insurance Information Institute which states, “A beneficiary is a person or entity you name in a life insurance policy to receive ...

Most individuals own assets that will pass upon the death of that individual pursuant to a beneficiary designation. In fact, in many instances, these types of assets make up a large portion of an ...

It’s common for people to assume that having a will in place is enough to ensure their assets will pass to their named beneficiaries in the manner they desire. However, certain financial ...