Trusts are appropriate in many instances to protect assets, before and after death. Be forewarned: there is one universal blunder that can undo your best planning.

Like so many pieces of the retirement puzzle, addressing financial concerns in your 30s and 40s can help prepare you for the future and boost your confidence in your ability to manage money.

We love our pets, but if we don’t plan ahead, their futures can quickly become quite grim.

By now we can all recite the names of celebrities who died without wills, and we’ve all heard the stories about legendary battles for estates. But what about “regular” folks?

It’s not easy for parents to admit that their child is not trustworthy, cannot manage money or makes bad decisions. There are several different ways to address this in estate planning.

People choose to donate all or part of their estates to not-for-profit organizations for a variety of reasons, and estate planning laws in most states make this a fairly easy process. It can be very rewarding to use a donation to create a legacy that supports a cause that matters to you.

Several different wills, a codicil and actions filed by a daughter and a son are all part of a messy court battle taking place over the estate of a prominent deceased publisher.

Like so many things in life, you can learn from the mistakes of others. When it comes to retirement planning and spending, there are some classic pitfalls to avoid.