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If you haven't taken steps already, consider planning now for the distribution of the assets of your estate.

A living trust can help control the distribution of your estate upon death.

To retain the tax advantages associated with charitable giving, your gift must be made to a qualified organization.

Careful estate planning is still one of the most important ways to manage and protect your assets for your heirs.

Wills and trusts allow you to spell out how you would like your property distributed, but they also go beyond that.

Compare the advantages and disadvantages of different gifting strategies available for planned giving.

There are five broad asset classes that you should take into consideration when constructing your investment portfolio.

It’s important to understand mutual fund loads, or sales charges, and exactly what they entail so you can make informed investing decisions.

An annuity is a flexible financial vehicle that can help protect against the risk of living a long time because it provides an option for a lifetime income.

The labels growth and value reflect different approaches that can be used when making investment decisions.

A bond is simply evidence of a debt from a government entity or a corporation and represents a long-term IOU.

With closed-end funds, investors pool their money together to purchase a professionally managed portfolio of stocks and/or bonds.

Both fixed and variable annuities could be appropriate options for an individual interested in purchasing an annuity.

A mutual fund is a collection of stocks, bonds, and other securities with certain benefits and risks.

It is important to understand how dividends (taxable payments to shareholders) fit with your long-term goals.

Zero-coupon bonds represent a type of bond that does not pay interest during the life of the bond.

ETFs have unique attributes and attempt to track all types of indexes, industries, or commodities.

A bond ladder is a strategy involving the purchase of bonds that have staggered maturity dates.

Bond ratings gauge a bond issuer’s financial ability to repay its promised principal and interest payments.

Bonds are issued by many entities and share many characteristics, each type of bond has certain benefits and risks.

If you leave a job or retire, you should consider your options regarding your employer retirement plan assets.

Many realize it’s important to save for retirement, but knowing exactly how much to save is another issue altogether.

If you do not participate in an employer-sponsored retirement plan, you might consider a traditional IRA.

With the changing pension landscape, it is important to take charge of your own retirement security.

401(k) employer-sponsored retirement plans have many benefits, including that the funds accumulate tax-deferred.

A Section 1035 exchange is a tax-free exchange of an existing annuity contract or life insurance policy for a new one.

An indexed annuity may provide some upside potential and downside protection.

Qualified Roth IRA distributions in retirement are free of federal income tax and aren’t included in gross income.

Annuities, an insurance-based financial vehicle, can provide many benefits that retirement investors might want.

A Roth 401(k) is funded with after-tax money, and allows for tax- and penalty-free withdrawal of earnings if requirements are met.

Company-owned life insurance is one way to help protect a business from financial problems caused by the death of a key employee.

Some of the pros and cons of whole life insurance.

Term life insurance differs from permanent forms of life insurance in that it offers temporary protection.

When selecting a life insurance policy, examine all your options, as well as the positives and negatives of each type.

Consider a universal life insurance policy if you want the flexibility to change your premium or death benefit.

A business owner policy is an insurance package that assembles the basic coverages required by a business owner in one bundle.

If you have a family who relies on your income, it is important to have life insurance protection.

A 1035 exchange allows you to exchange your life insurance policy for one from another company without tax liability.

Consider a trustee-to-trustee transfer to an IRA versus a lump-sum distribution from a workplace retirement plan.

Many traditional tax-advantaged investment strategies have gone away, but there are still some alternatives.

Capital gains are profits realized from the sale of assets; a tax is triggered only when an asset is sold, not held.

Required minimum distribution is the annual amount that must be withdrawn from a qualified retirement plan/account.

Everything you own, whatever the form of ownership, is subject to federal, and possibly state, estate taxes.