Have you updated your beneficiaries?
- Check your policy to ensure your designated beneficiaries are accurate and up to date.
- You may want to consider naming more than one beneficiary or naming a contingent beneficiary. Otherwise, should your beneficiary pass before you do, a judge may have to decide how to distribute your assets.
- Be sure to specifically name your beneficiaries (rather than simply listing “my children”, for example.) Not doing so may lead to problems after you pass, particularly if you have a blended family or if one of your children dies before you.
- Update your beneficiary designations after any change in family status. Otherwise, the wrong person (such as an ex-spouse) could get your assets.
- Revisit your beneficiary selections annually to make sure they’re still current.