Intestacy laws step in immediately when someone dies without clear instructions. These laws, which vary by state, decide who gets what from bank accounts, property, and personal items. It can lead to ...

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 ...

Grace is Money editor at Which?, on the hunt for ways to help people save with smart tips and deals. She was named personal finance journalist of the year 2025. When someone dies without a will, their ...

Julia Kagan is a financial/consumer journalist and former senior editor, personal finance, of Investopedia. Marguerita is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor ...

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 ...

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 ...

Financial planning means giving thought to how you want to manage your investments and other assets during your lifetime. But it also means taking a longer view and considering what will happen to ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...