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When you die, you leave behind your estate. Your estate consists of your assets—all of your money, real estate, and worldly belongings. Your estate also includes your debts, expenses, and unpaid taxes. After you die, somebody must take charge of your estate and settle your affairs. This person will take your estate through probate, a court-supervised process that winds up your financial affairs after your death. The proceedings take place in the state where you were living at the time of your death. Owning property in more than one state can result in multiple probate proceedings. This is known as ancillary probate.

After an illustrious career in drug development and research, Dr. Robert Ruffolo retired from Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in 2008. For decades, he gave his all as a scientist and pharmaceutical executive. His crowning achievement was the discovery of carvedilol, a revolutionary treatment for congestive heart failure that has helped tens of millions of patients and for which he was honored with some of his industry’s most prestigious awards.

Question: My retirement savings and investments are spread between multiple financial institutions. Should I combine them, or are there benefits to keeping things separate? 

Question: I run a family business that my children will inherit. How can I make sure they are financially prepared for this transition? 

Mitzi and Steve Deal of Charlotte, North Carolina, like to think of their mountain house as a gift to their family—one that will keep giving for generations.

We all know people who have made less-than-rational investment decisions, like pulling out of the stock market during a downturn or continuing to fund expensive repairs for a battered but beloved car.

No matter how sophisticated their investment knowledge, investors of all kinds are prone to make suboptimal choices, second-guess long-term decisions based on short-term occurrences, and lose sleep over investment portfolios. These are natural and understandable behaviors, but they’re rooted in a faulty assumption: that all dollars have equal value.

Insurance is one way to manage financial risk. Most people understand the basics of insurance through their experiences with auto, health, or home insurance. But there are other types of insurance that may help you protect your financial health, including disability, life, and long-term care. This video explains major types of insurance that you may want to consider as part of your financial plan.

Early on, when Denise Gehringer talked with friends about plans for her son, Jacob, who has Down syndrome, she often heard the same refrain.