Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Bob Carlson researches all facets of retirement finances. About 70% of U.S. adults don’t have a will or trust, according to ...

Can probate delays be avoided? Personal representatives, such as executors and administrators, play a key role in avoiding probate delays. These people are responsible for managing the estate, which ...

Jehan Crump-Gibson is an accomplished attorney and founder of her own law firm, Greal Lakes Legal Group, PLLC, specializing in business, real estate, and probate law. With over 16 years of experience, ...

When you die, estate planners say, one of the finest gifts you can leave your heirs is a plan for avoiding probate. Probate is a legal process that distributes a dead person’s assets and settles their ...

One of the most effective tools in the estate planning process is a trust, which can offer significant advantages-including the ability to bypass the often lengthy and costly probate process. Trusts, ...

Estate planning is often misunderstood. Many people believe it is only for the wealthy, something you deal with later in life, or a task that can wait until circumstances force action.

Most people have goals for what they wish to achieve in the next 10 years, five years, five months, that day or even in the next hour. Short-term and long-term goals are a good and healthy way to ...

We constantly hear from advisors that we should plan our affairs in such a way as to avoid probate. What does the phrase mean and what property is subject to the probate process? What planning is ...

Probate is a largely misunderstood but generally feared concept. Over half of the respondents to a recent study said that they have no idea about the costs involved in probate, and that they perceive ...

Dear Jonathan: I just completed the probate of my late brother’s will. I was the personal representative he appointed to act on behalf of his estate. This was not a pleasant experience and in fact, ...

Avoiding probate can save your beneficiaries time, reduce costs and protect their privacy while your estate is being settled. You can keep your Connecticut estate out of the probate court system by ...