6 Tips How To Better Handle Beneficiary Designations

“Bear in mind the wonderful things you learn in schools are the work of many generations. All this is put in your hands as your inheritance in order that you may receive it, honor it, add to it, and one day faithfully hand it on to your children.” Albert Einstein

Create your estate plan so that you have control over your asset distribution to your loved ones during your lifetime. Aim for your plan to be as litigation-free as possible. Beneficiary designations are an essential way to distribute most of your assets quickly and effectively.

Three Ways To Transfer Non-probate Property

1.  Designated Beneficiaries Upon Your Death A beneficiary is a person or organization designated to receive a benefit. You can and should also select a contingent (or secondary) beneficiary. Sometimes the first-named or primary beneficiary dies after filling out the form.

2. Property Ownership Designation Husbands and wives (or parents and children) may have joint ownership of assets called joint tenancy with the right of survivorship.

3. Payable-on-death (POD) designation

Like TODs, the designated beneficiary has no right to this property, usually a bank account, until the owner has passed away. Once the owner has died, the beneficiary will provide a copy of the death certificate and show proper identification to access the account.

6 Tips to Ensure Your Designated Beneficiaries Are Proper

1. Don’t Forget To Name A Beneficiary We live busy lives. We get a ton of forms when we start a new job or open new accounts.  We may lose them or forget where we placed them.

2. Name A Contingent Beneficiary Besides naming a primary beneficiary, it is essential to name a contingent beneficiary if the primary beneficiary has either passed away before the asset owner or has become incapacitated. It may have been several years since the designated beneficiaries were selected.

3. Reviewing, Changing, and Updating Your Beneficiary Forms When you first start a job or open an account, you may have been idealistic about who you wanted to receive your assets.

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