Do you remember the people you named as your beneficiary for your life insurance and/or retirement plan? Chances are you designated your beneficiaries quite some time ago and it might be time for a check up.

Considering that situations change, your prior designated beneficiaries might not be the people you want to receive your life insurance proceeds or retirement money. Some things to consider according to an article on Lancaster Online are:

“When you started work, were you married? Did you name your mother as beneficiary of group life insurance provided by your employer?

How many children did you have when you bought an annuity? Did you name the children individually? If you did, children born after that date would not be beneficiaries.

Do you really want minor children to be named as beneficiaries so that a court-appointed guardian has to be named to accept the money for them? All of these questions should be addressed as part of your estate-planning process.”

Another important aspect is designating minors as a beneficiary. You should consult with an estate-planning attorney about this matter because according to the article “Don’t name minors as beneficiaries of any contractual benefit. If you die while they are still minors, they will not be able to access the benefit without the expensive and burdensome procedure of having a court-appointed guardian.”

Furthermore according to the article “You may use language in your beneficiary designation to allow your executor to name a custodian of the estate of any minor beneficiaries, thereby avoiding a court appointed guardian. It can take more than 50 words to state it correctly.”

Taking out life insurance or opening a retirement is just one-step n the planning process. Assigning beneficiaries and keep those designations up to date is a critical part of the process. To learn more about being a beneficiary check out the book “The Inheritors Handbook”.