With two decades of experience as a respected journalist and communications leader in the mortgage field, Deborah Kearns is passionate about helping consumers make smart homeownership and personal ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about charitable giving and estate planning ideas. When the first of two spouses dies the survivor can safeguard the ...

For many Americans, the only estate tax, or "death tax," they are aware of is at the federal level. When reading that the federal exemption rose to $13.99 million this year, and coupling that with the ...

To avoid probate, many CD owners choose to name a transfer-on-death (TOD) beneficiary to their account—that is, someone who ...