Mary Randolph earned her law degree from the UC Berkeley School of Law. She is the author of The Executor's Guide: Settling a Loved One's Estate or Trust, 8 Ways to Avoid Probate, and other books about law for nonlawyers. She has been a guest on The Today Show and has been interviewed by many publications, including the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, and more.
Articles By Mary Randolph
Your spouse—or former spouse—may have a legal claim to your retirement account, so proceed with caution.
Bypass probate by naming a beneficiary for your securities.
Depending on your state's law, your inheritors may be able to skip regular probate.
You can add a payable-on-death designation to any kind of new or existing account: checking, savings, or certificate of deposit.
Florida has several options when it's time for probate proceedings.
Probate is a court-supervised legal process that may be required after someone dies.
When and how to file an income tax return for an estate.
The basics of wrapping up an estate in New Jersey.
Probate is a court-supervised legal process that may be required after someone dies.
Figure out how much money you'll need each year when you retire. It will probably be a lot less than you feared.