Drawing up your estate plan in Missouri involves paying attention to a lot of details. Chief among these should be the ones that you will designate as your beneficiaries. This is a list that may need to see a number of updates over the coming years. Keeping it up to date can help you ensure your wishes are honored.
Always make sure to designate a beneficiary
The first thing you will need to make sure of is that you designate a person or persons to be listed as your beneficiaries. This is the key to successful estate planning. The ones that you choose to name will be the ones who receive the bulk of the money and other assets in your estate. It’s crucial to be clear as to who these people will be.
Not naming a beneficiary for your estate can lead to financial and legal issues for your family members. If you fail to do so, the financial company that holds your trust will usually observe rules that are contrary to your intentions. An insurance company may pay out to a probate estate set up to oversee your trust.
Make sure to update your list of beneficiaries
The next major detail you need to take care of when planning your estate will be to update your list of beneficiaries. If you draw up your estate plan while still relatively young, you may lose many of your named beneficiaries over the years. You may also have more children or acquire children from a marriage.
If this is the case, you need to be sure that your estate plan is brought up to date. You want to make sure that everyone who has already passed is removed. At the same time, you also want to make sure new additions to your family are provided for.
The final detail to take care of is to update your plan in case you have been divorced. If you have since remarried, this is crucial. You want to name your current spouse as your beneficiary rather than your former spouse.
