Sometimes conflicting beneficiary designations for 401(k) plan assets can be tough to sort out when a plan participant dies. It took a verdict from the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 9 th ...

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

Beneficiary designations are an essential component of every estate plan; however, these designations are often overlooked. As a bit of background, there is a distinction between probate assets and ...

In a somewhat surprising case, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled that a participant may change his prior written beneficiary designation by a telephone call to the plan sponsor.

Bernstein Private Wealth Management reports on strategies for managing inherited retirement accounts, emphasizing tax implications, withdrawal options, and the importance of understanding account ...

When you think of estate planning, most people think about getting their wills and trusts in order. But for many investors, their IRA or 401(k) beneficiary designation form will control the ...

An employer’s retirement plan documents did not incorporate beneficiary designation forms in its language or appendices, so the forms did not govern the award of benefits, a court ruled. A federal ...

Wills and trust are often thought of as the main components of an estate plan – the documents that determine who will receive our assets at death. However, simple beneficiary designation forms, which ...

A federal district court has ruled for a second time on litigation arising from a dispute over verbal and written beneficiary designations. A thorny Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ...

Benefit administrators, 401(k) vendors, recordkeepers and benefits professionals regularly recommend that participants in qualified retirement plans periodically review and update their beneficiary ...

A May 2017 decision of the Federal Court for the Middle District of Florida should provide an impetus for employers with employer-sponsored retirement plans to reevaluate their beneficiary designation ...

Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts override your will when it's time to determine who inherits your funds. Many people forget to update beneficiary forms, which leads to unintended ...