I was talking with my financial planner the other day, and he remarked that he often sees people who have taken the time to put a financial plan together, but then fail to name beneficiaries on their accounts. The beneficiary is the person to whom the account will be paid upon the death of the account holder. The account will be paid over to that person outside of the probate process, which means the beneficiary will receive the money a lot sooner than if no beneficiary is named and the property has to pass through the Will, or through intestacy (if there is no Will.)
Take a few minutes to make sure you have named beneficiaries (and contingent beneficiaries) on all of your retirement accounts. You can name multiple beneficiaries if you are leaving the account to more than one person.
If you aren’t sure whether you’ve named beneficiaries, contact your financial adviser or the company where your account is held. A few minutes now can save your loved ones months of time later.
Leanna,
This is so true. It is also to important to make sure that your beneficiary designations are updated as well to reflect your wishes. In California, we often name a living trust to be the beneficiary for many accounts including checking, savings and brokerage, but not retirement accounts.