Someday is or isn’t Coming
Somedays never come. Some other somedays do. You cannot prepare for and you shouldn’t worry about the tomorrows that won’t happen. Those somedays are out of your control. For example, you cannot predict your future accident, illness, or loss of mobility. You cannot control the quality of your future thinking. But there are some somedays for which you should prepare.
In this series I will explore the someday things people tend to overlook, postpone or procrastinate about. The first one is the failure to designate a primary beneficiary and any contingent beneficiaries.
My Own Oversight
As it turns out, I never set up a beneficiary for my small Robinhood brokerage account. I noticed that this morning when I logged into my account to download and review my statement. That oversight has now been corrected. If I overlooked something, and I tend to be very careful about these things, then perhaps you should revisit your beneficiary designations as well. Bear in mind that what you did twenty years ago may no longer be what you want to have done today.
As a side note, I don’t recommend Robinhood as a broker. Their statements are awful and their website is barely useful. I only created an account with Robinhood so that I could communicate with and educate the younger generation that uses that broker. Sadly, many use it for cryptocurrency “investing.”
Why You Should Care
A beneficiary designation is needed when you want to specify who will receive your financial assets, such as life insurance policies, retirement accounts, or bank accounts, after your death. This designation ensures that your assets are distributed according to your wishes and bypasses the probate process. Probate can be full of delays.
Avoiding probate is helpful because it can save time and money, as the probate process can be lengthy and expensive due to court fees and legal costs. Additionally, it maintains privacy, as probate proceedings are public records, exposing details of the estate and beneficiaries.
Why Avoiding Probate Is Beneficial: A Comprehensive Guide
Rather than create my own guide, I thought you would benefit from the work of another voice. Here is a link: TheMoneyKnowHow
Future Preparing for Someday Posts
I have a list of things I plan to discuss. If you have suggestions regarding this series please share them.
Action Items
- Review your investment, retirement, bank, and credit union accounts. Do they have beneficiaries designated and are they current? Also review any life insurance policies.
- Do your beneficiaries know what they need to do to get the ball rolling when you die? If they don’t then you should love them by helping them know now what they will need to know then.
Know Your Flocks & Herds 