JustCurious
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2006
- Messages
- 1,396
This issue came up in another thread, and I thought it was important enough to start a new thread, because I don't think that most people really understand the importance of account beneficiary designations. Some people think that as long as they have a will, all of their assets will pass according to their wishes in their will. But this is simply not true.
For many people, or perhaps most people, having a will is irrelevant to determining how their liquid assets will pass to their heirs, and they don't realize it. The average person has most of their money and liquid assets in financial accounts (mutual fund companies, brokerages, banks, credit unions, savings bonds, etc), and for those accounts, the funds pass directly to the named beneficiaries on your accounts upon your death, regardless of what your will says, or even regardless of whether you have a will. I don't think many people understand this. After your death, your named beneficiary simply has to present a certified copy of your death certificate to the financial institution holding your account, and fill out the appropriate form and confirm their identity as your named beneficiary, and the funds or assets in your account are then transferred to them, as per your beneficiary designation. Even if you have a will, and even if you have an executor or administrator of your estate, the executor of your estate has no right to get involved and has no say in the matter, regardless of what your will says. Therefore, when determining how to pass your liquid assets to your heirs, the most important thing to do is to make sure your beneficiary designations are up to date. For this purpose, you should simply ignore your will, or, ignore the need to have a will in the first place. (There may be other valid reasons to have a will, I am only referring to the issue of passing financial accounts to your heirs)
For many people, or perhaps most people, having a will is irrelevant to determining how their liquid assets will pass to their heirs, and they don't realize it. The average person has most of their money and liquid assets in financial accounts (mutual fund companies, brokerages, banks, credit unions, savings bonds, etc), and for those accounts, the funds pass directly to the named beneficiaries on your accounts upon your death, regardless of what your will says, or even regardless of whether you have a will. I don't think many people understand this. After your death, your named beneficiary simply has to present a certified copy of your death certificate to the financial institution holding your account, and fill out the appropriate form and confirm their identity as your named beneficiary, and the funds or assets in your account are then transferred to them, as per your beneficiary designation. Even if you have a will, and even if you have an executor or administrator of your estate, the executor of your estate has no right to get involved and has no say in the matter, regardless of what your will says. Therefore, when determining how to pass your liquid assets to your heirs, the most important thing to do is to make sure your beneficiary designations are up to date. For this purpose, you should simply ignore your will, or, ignore the need to have a will in the first place. (There may be other valid reasons to have a will, I am only referring to the issue of passing financial accounts to your heirs)
Last edited:
