An individual retirement account (IRA) can be a significant estate asset. How the account is handled depends on whether a beneficiary is named, who that beneficiary is and which distribution rules ...

This is Part II of a two-part article. Part I appeared in the , 2026 issue and addresses outright beneficiary designation to ...

Key takeaways The SECURE Act of 2019 fundamentally changed inherited IRA rules for most non-spouse beneficiaries. Congress ...

Your 401(k) passes to the person you name on your beneficiary form—not through your will. Spouses and non-spouses face different rules and tax implications when inheriting a 401(k). Forgetting to ...

Outdated beneficiary designations can disrupt your estate plan. Learn which accounts to review, when to update beneficiaries ...

A spouse beneficiary is the person who will inherit a 401(k) account if the account holder passes away. The rules for spouse beneficiaries determine how the account assets are distributed, which can ...

Quick ReadYour IRA is controlled by the beneficiary form rather than your will, so naming your estate strips heirs of ...

Two siblings inherited identical IRAs from the same person, yet one faces a brutal 10-year drain on peak earnings while the ...

When you open a 401(k), you can name a beneficiary to inherit your account when you pass away. Inheriting a 401(k) comes with a range of beneficiary rules that depend on the beneficiary's relationship ...

Divorce may not automatically remove your ex from every account. See which beneficiary designations could still determine who ...

A signed revocable trust may accomplish little unless assets are coordinated, correctly titled, and reviewed when finances, ...

This is Part I of a two-part article. Part II will address planning where the IRA participant dies before his or her RBD, as ...