Types of Beneficiary Designations and Life Events

It is important to review your beneficiary designations for your accounts and benefits. Many people forget or never get around to updating this important information when a life event occurs. A typical life event where you may want to change the name of a beneficiary could be, but not limited to:

• Marriage or engagement
• Birth
• Death
• Divorce
• Estrangement
• A change of heart
• If a charity or company, it may not exist any longer

Some types of accounts that may have a designated beneficiary or may need to be update are, but not limited to:

• 401k account(s)
• IRA account(s)
• Other retirement account(s)
• Life insurance account(s)
• "Payable upon death" bank accounts

Outdated Beneficiary Designations
We have witnessed numerous cases of accounts possibly not going to whom a deceased may have intended. This occurs due to a beneficiary designation not being updated. Cases where the account owner was remarried, but  neglected to update their beneficiary designations accordingly, or perhaps where a non updated designation was left to parent(s) whom didn't approve of a spouse, but the deceased intended it to go to the spouse, but neglected to change the designation. This can be devastating for survivors, and in some cases one may battle in court for a legal determination of a true beneficiary. The court's decision, however, may not necessarily be what the deceased would have intended.

So update your beneficiaries today and review them every so often to ensure nothing needs to be updated.

1.) Account name/type

2.) Name on account

3.) Institution where the account exists

4.) Institution contact name and information

5.) Whom the current beneficiary is

6.) Today's date

7.) A short note as to why you have made this designation, (to jog your memory in a few years when you revisit your beneficiary designations).