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Determining an appropriate mix of investments and matching those choices to your retirement goals is a keystone of successful retirement planning. If your eyes glaze over when someone starts talking about asset classes, diversification and allocation, you’re not alone. Here’s a quick guide:

What Is an Asset Class?

Estate planning can be simple or complex depending on your particular circumstances. However, there are certain basic documents that everyone should consider preparing to ensure their wishes are carried out should they become incapacitated and in the event of their passing.

One often-cited guideline for determining asset allocation when planning for retirement is that you should subtract your age from 100 to find the percentage of your investment portfolio that you should keep in stocks. For example, it suggests if you're 40, you should keep 60% of your portfolio in stocks.

A trust is a legal instrument where one person (the trustor) grants another person (the trustee) the legal right to hold title of assets for the benefit of a third party (the beneficiary). Depending on the type of trust, they’re often set up for a number of purposes, including:

Writing a will is one of those things that you know you ought to do, but many of us try to avoid. A will is the way you authorize the transfer of your assets to your spouse, children or others after your death.

What do you do when your heart demands something, but your bank account says no? That’s the dilemma that many, especially Millennials, find themselves in when they think about having a family. 

Sometimes as we get older, we require assistance to perform basic activities of daily living. This can result from normal aging or a progressive disease or condition. And while many seniors prefer to stay in their own home, many will require more help than can be offered in that setting and must be cared for in a residential facility.

Determining an appropriate mix of investments and matching those choices to your retirement goals is a keystone of successful retirement planning. If your eyes glaze over when someone starts talking about asset classes, diversification and allocation, you’re not alone. Here’s a quick guide:

What Is an Asset Class?

Here’s the headline: $119,238. That’s how much a nursing home costs the average resident for an average stay of 14 months. And that’s just the last phase of care. Before entering a nursing home, most seniors previously receive care at home — and potentially in a less intensive assisted living facility. All of these arrangements are part of the long-term care continuum.

While the cost of nuptials has held steady over the past few years, too many couples are planning to borrow to cover the cost. Here’s how to avoid the debt trap.