February 28, 2018

Far too many people make mistakes related to their beneficiaries on their bank accounts, retirement accounts or life insurance policies. These mistakes usually end up being a problem after the fact for your loved ones when they are not able to receive the assets and benefits that you intended. 

There are seven common mistakes that can easily be avoided by conducting an annual review of your estate planning documents with an experienced estate planning attorney. Far too many of these mistakes can be easily avoided with a little bit of regular review and more often than not, the planning mistakes relate to situations in which you haven’t updated your materials after a major life change. The biggest mistakes include:

•   Not naming a beneficiary at all.
•   Naming your estate as the beneficiary of your retirement plan.
•   Having outdated beneficiaries.
•   Naming a special needs loved one as a direct beneficiary.
•   Naming a minor as a direct beneficiary.
•   Naming a child as the co-owner of an investment or deposit account.
•   Naming separate children or just one beneficiary for separate accounts.

These can all lead to catastrophic problems for your loved ones down the line and should be avoided with the help of an experienced lawyer.