With so much going on in our busy lives, it can be difficult to take care of financial “housekeeping” chores, even though we realize their importance. An urgent task I encourage you to address promptly is to make sure your beneficiary designations are current for all your investments, insurance and financial-related accounts. If you’re like most people, you probably want to leave behind your assets to the people you love most – your spouse, kids, family members or even charities. But if you haven’t reviewed your beneficiary designations in some time, your wishes may not be carried out this way.
Here’s why it’s so important to review your beneficiary designations:
- If your beneficiary information is not current, in the event of your untimely passing your assets could be distributed to an unintended heir. This may be true even if you have an up-to-date will, as beneficiary designations often trump all other legal documents.
- Having proper designations in place may extend tax-related benefits and reduce the tax burden for your beneficiaries.
- Taking a small amount of time to update and verify your designations will ensure that your wishes are met, and will prevent your beneficiaries from bearing added stress due to legal complications.
Today’s call to action
It’s really as simple as picking up the phone to get started. If you’re not 100% certain that your beneficiary designations are current, please call your advisor today and make sure you take care of this important matter. Here are some examples of the accounts you want to check:
- Annuity
- Life Insurance
- IRA
- 401(k) / 403(b)
- Pension
- Other Retirement
- Non-Retirement
- 529 College Savings
- Mutual Fund
- Bank Statements
