When someone dies without a will, their estate is divided up according to standard rules, known as intestacy law. As set out in the Inheritance and Trustees' Power Act, the rules determine who ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Matthew F. Erskine is a trusts and estates attorney. A common misconception is that the absence of a will is a problem. In reality ...

Julia Kagan is a financial/consumer journalist and former senior editor, personal finance, of Investopedia. Charlene Rhinehart is a CPA , CFE, chair of an Illinois CPA Society committee, and has a ...

Christy Bieber has a JD from UCLA School of Law and began her career as a college instructor and textbook author. She has been writing full time for over a decade with a focus on making financial and ...

Who controls an artist’s legacy after they die? The short answer is: whoever the artist entrusts to do so. But, like many aspects of estate planning, that simple statement can get complicated when it ...

Apart from being famous, can you guess what connects Bob Marley, Pablo Picasso, Jimi Hendrix, and Abraham Lincoln? They achieved great things while they were alive, but in death, they left chaos for ...

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. New rules governing the way estates are divided when someone dies without a will take effect next week, ...

Rich people aren’t the only ones who need a will. Without this legal document your state’s laws will govern how your assets are distributed. Families with young children can add a clause naming a ...

When someone passes away without a valid will, they are said to have died intestate. In Pennsylvania, dying intestate can create confusion and disputes among surviving family members over how the ...