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What an executor must know before a parent dies

My aunt passed away recently, and after her memorial service, my cousin Patrick mentioned that he was grappling with several tasks that he hadn't realized would be quite so time-consuming. Why? Of the three kids in his family, he was the one named executor.

My parents have asked me to be the executor of their wills, too. But like many people who have been tapped for this role, I don't have MORE

Should personal finance writers be liable for bad advice?

After I argued last week that Congress ought to force financial advisers to do a better job for their clients, a reader posted a related question: Would personal finance journalists have to meet these higher standards as well? He followed up with an email:

George, for this fiduciary responsibility that you are advocating — shouldn't it also apply to you and the other columnists who post advice on CNNMoney? MORE

Senate wimps out on financial-advice protection

One of the official goals of the financial-reform bill that the Senate passed Thursday is "to protect consumers from abusive financial services practices." For all those lofty intentions, however, senators missed an obvious opportunity to safeguard individuals from harmful investment advice.

Where the Senate failed to act was in the standard of care that a financial adviser owes his or her clients.

Just how big is the health care reform law?

True to the cliche, it makes a pretty good doorstop:

Photo by Ryan Mesina

Whenever big legislation that changes the tax code is passed, the nice folks at CCH send MONEY a bound copy of the new law, along with their explanation of how it will work. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is long enough to require two volumes, one for the law itself (plus a committee report) and MORE

Readers to the Rescue

Weigh in with your own advice for readers facing tough financial decisions or grappling with challenging situations involving money, manners, and ethics.

Friends come to me for advice regarding their  investments. I'm no CFP, but I have a good grasp of the basics and give well-researched recommendations. Is providing this advice a mistake?  --Peter from Fairfax Station, Va.

Readers to the Rescue

Weigh in with your own advice for readers facing tough financial decisions or grappling with challenging situations involving money, manners, and ethics.

By the time my son graduates from college, I'll be nearing retirement. I'm willing to pay for his BA but feel like anything after that is his responsibility. Am I being selfish? --Harley from Birmingham, Ala

Investors ill-served by financial reform amendment

Last month, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) told Wall Street titans they needed to put their clients' welfare above their own. But legislation introduced by Collins on Thursday looks as if it would gut the very safeguards Collins and other senators say they're trying to enact.

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The economics of ditching your mortgage

For a recent story I did about underwater mortgages, I spoke with a lot of people who owe more on their mortgage than their homes are worth. Inevitably, these people would acknowledge the option of just walking away: giving up on paying the mortgage and leaving the house to foreclosure. Just as inevitably, they would quickly add, "I would never do that."

There seem to be two camps on walking away. MORE

Vanguard joins the ETF price war

Now the ETF game is really getting interesting.

Vanguard announced it has removed trading fees on all 46 of its exchange-traded funds. In addition, the fund group lowered its commissions for buying or selling stocks or non-Vanguard ETFs  to just $7 to $2, depending on the size of your account.

With these moves, Vanguard has trumped rivals Schwab and Fidelity, at least for now.

Homeowner barricades self in foreclosed house

A 53-year-old Ohio man facing foreclosure has sealed himself inside his home, refusing to leave until banks end foreclosures and evictions. According to The Toledo Blade:

"Through an agreement with the Wood County Sheriff's Office, he was to have been out of the house on U.S. 20 in Stony Ridge by midnight yesterday, but instead, members of the Toledo Foreclosure Defense League, an organization he co-founded, helped seal him inside. A MORE

Foreclosure is hitting well-off families, too

Who is falling into foreclosure? The Florida Association of Realtors wanted to find out, so it commissioned an analysis that cross-referenced three years of foreclosure filings with demographic data. The study focused only on primary residences; the idea was to ignore investors and speculators, looking instead at people who'd bought homes to live in themselves.

Some of the findings about foreclosed homeowners were pretty interesting:

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Reality sinks in for 401(k) investors — and providers

It's taken a few years, but Americans are finally giving up on the dream of an early retirement. A new poll by the Gallup organization found that for the first time more Americans say they will work longer than age 65, rather than call it quits in their 50s or early 60s.

The change is dramatic. More than a third of those surveyed said they would retire after 65, compared with MORE