Valuable Lessons I’ve Learned About
To most persons, thinking about death is an abomination. However, this is a reality of life that we cannot wish away. It is for this reason that writing a will is important. Knowing your dependents is the first step in writing the will. Very many different people can be the dependents. It is important though to let them know of the contents.
A beneficiary is defined as the person named in the will to inherit the property. The successor to an estate or other assets is the beneficiary. If the beneficiary is a minor upon death of the will owner, he or she will inherit the property upon attaining legal age. The benefactor should tell the beneficiaries about the will early. This will eradicate confusion when you die.
Even after writing the will, revisit it regularly. There are life changes that can lead you to change the content of the will. Do also have alternate beneficiaries, also called secondary beneficiaries. This means that if the primary beneficiary was to die, the secondary ones will inherit your assets automatically. Keep your will documents up to date.
Beneficiaries fall in different categories. The first one is the irrevocable beneficiary. Consult your attorney and financial advisor before settling on an irrevocable beneficiary. It is very difficult to change the identified irrevocable beneficiaries. On the other hand, there are revocable beneficiaries. This category of beneficiaries can be altered. For instance, factors like marriage or divorce.
A primary beneficiary is basically the person who receives the money once you die. Most insurance companies want to know the primary beneficiary. Contingent or alternate beneficiaries form another group of beneficiaries. In case there is death of the primary beneficiary, then the contingent beneficiary stands to inherit the properties. Others are residuary beneficiaries. These are persons named to receive specific items from the benefactor. For instance, a grandmother can name a grandchild to receive her special ornaments upon her death.
Point to remember is that residuary beneficiaries can also have alternate residuary beneficiaries in place. There are many people who can be named as beneficiaries in a will. A lot of people prefer to have their spouses as beneficiaries. However, it is important to name an alternate beneficiary after the spouse. Children fit this part perfectly. There are many people who prefer to have children as primary beneficiaries.
It is also possible to have charities and friends as beneficiaries in your will. You make this call. You can get more info about wills and beneficiaries online and grow your knowledge appropriately from this site. In conclusion, it is important to write your will early since we never know what will happen next in life.