Your 401(k) doesn’t just disappear when you die. Here’s how it’s transferred, who gets it, the tax impact, and why beneficiary updates matter more than you think.

Matt Richardson is the senior managing editor for the Managing Your Money section for CBSNews.com. He writes and edits content about personal finance ranging from savings to investing to insurance.

Banks and other financial institutions don’t automatically ask account holders to designate a beneficiary, so it can be easy to forget or postpone adding a beneficiary until it’s more convenient. But ...

A variety of financial accounts, including retirement plans and life insurance, allow individuals to designate beneficiaries. Whoever is named on a beneficiary designation form will receive those ...

Question: My mother is the trustee of her revocable living trust, with me as the sole beneficiary. The only asset in the trust is my mother’s house. My mother wants to simplify things and record a ...

Dear Liz: In response to a reader who asked about creating a will, you suggested options for low-cost online resources. That is great! But, I would encourage you to remind readers to designate ...

Time to catch up on some of the questions that readers have sent in. Q: I've read that you can add a payable on death beneficiary to a car title. I've gone to the BMV website but I can't find a form.

Naming a bank account beneficiary ensures your money goes straight to your loved ones without getting tied up in costly, time-consuming probate. Most banks let you do this through a “Payable on Death” ...

A beneficiary is the person you choose to receive your life insurance death benefit after you die. You can choose multiple beneficiaries and designate a certain percentage of the death benefit for ...

Transfer on Death (“TOD”), also known as Payable on Death (“POD”), account registrations are a popular way to avoid the requirement to pass assets through probate upon death and operate as an ...

When Priscilla Presley challenged her late daughter’s will recently, it raised the prospect of a family rift and a messy legal battle over who would guide Elvis’ big estate. But legal experts say ...