Financial planning

Rather than leaving an account to heirs, it may be smarter to designate a charitable remainder trust as the beneficiary.

Consolidation is reshaping our rankings of RIA Leaders - which firms will top next year's list?

This year's list includes fast-growing hotshots who are challenging the status quo, established stalwarts and granddaddy firms that have been around for more than a century.

Some of your underlying assumptions may be totally wrong. Here are a few fresh ideas to consider.

Your expansion strategy may determine your firm's ultimate success. Be sure to get this one right.

Better communication skills can help you build new relationships despite a cultural shift toward greater skepticism.

After a recent Tax Court ruling involving prohibited transactions inside an IRA, two investors face steep penalties.

Use these 7 tips to help existing clients' offspring - and start building a relationship with younger prospects.

Clarity on why you do what you do will help you connect to your clients and prospects -- and maybe even yourself.

My wife and I have just one grandchild from one of our two sons (with no current plans for a second). The other son and wife are trying but no luck yet.

The number of mergers and acquisitions of financial advisors is set to increase substantially in 2014 and beyond, according to research released by Tiburon Strategic Advisors.

A pair of longtime Suntrust financial advisors have hooked up with LPL Financial to form their own practice.

Because I specialize in planning for teachers, I follow a number of teachers on Twitter -- and it turns out they share information like crazy. They have multiple chats throughout the week and help each other out with their daily problems.

A new report finds that advisors, investors and financial providers have been using the term inconsistently -- and perhaps incorrectly.

The Internal Revenue Service is urging individuals and businesses that are making contributions to charity to keep in mind several important tax law provisions that have taken effect in recent years.

A 25-year-old divorce workshop founded and run by two planners in San Diego has received funding from a former attendee to enhance its website, with an eye to going national.

When a client's loved one needs extra care, financial planners need to be equipped to answer questions and help families find the right resources.

Bill Harris shook up the financial services industry as CEO of both Intuit and PayPal. Now he's got his eye on financial advisors.

An advisor to non-U.S. citizens needs to consider where they are domiciled before refining a planning strategy.

Outflows, weak supply, rising interest rates, and mediocre returns are forecast for the municipal market as it prepares to ring in 2014 — in other words: more of the same.