Determining your beneficiary designations is a key aspect of the estate planning process. Multiple factors must be considered when identifying your beneficiaries, including the legal and tax requirements that are triggered as you incorporate your loved ones into your estate plan.
A knowledgeable estate planning attorney can help you protect your beneficiaries while ensuring that all designations are valid. Alves Law Group can answer your questions about beneficiary designations in New Bedford estate planning and formulate the appropriate documents for your specific needs.
Beneficiaries are the individuals or entities designated in a New Bedford estate plan as entitled to receive certain assets upon a person’s death. Beneficiary designations are required for:
Legal structures within estate plans, such as living trusts, will require beneficiary designations. Generally speaking, beneficiary designations allow assets to avoid probate.
For example, funds disbursed from life insurance, retirement, or brokerage accounts with beneficiary designations will not have to go through the lengthy, costly probate process. Property contained within a living trust and assets with payable-on-death designations can also avoid probate entirely.
Designated beneficiaries can include parties such as the decedent’s spouse, children, or parents. Contingent beneficiaries who would inherit if the primary beneficiary passes away can also be designated.
Some insurance policies may restrict who can be designated as a beneficiary or require that naming a beneficiary is irrevocable. Ambiguous language in an estate plan and the age of the proposed beneficiaries can also complicate designations. An attorney could consider all relevant factors, help a client determine their appropriate beneficiary designations, and offer advice at every step of the process.
Establishing beneficiary designations in a New Bedford estate plan is not necessarily a one-time action. An estate plan should reflect a person’s wishes, which may sometimes change over time.
Major life events like marriage, the birth of a child, or the passing of a loved one can require updates to beneficiary designations. It is especially important to ensure that someone’s beneficiary designations align with current goals for their estate plan, given that these can often supersede the terms of a last will and testament.
Ensuring beneficiary designations are in order can keep most, if not all, of assets out of probate and help an estate avoid unnecessary legal disputes. Keeping beneficiary designations up to date can provide peace of mind and the knowledge that loved ones will be provided for.
When it comes to determining and establishing beneficiary designations in New Bedford estate planning, you need a comprehensive, inclusive strategy that will address all possible challenges that could arise in the future. Our team can help you create estate planning documents that fully reflect your wishes while avoiding legal pitfalls that could cause disputes or claims.
When you need help creating or updating the beneficiary designations in your estate plan, an estate planning attorney can identify relevant provisions and changes. Your estate plan should not be left to chance. Reach out to our firm today to schedule your strategy meeting with an estate planning attorney and discuss the options that are right for you.
