What Assets are NOT Controlled by Your Will?

While a will is important for protecting your hard-earned assets and loved ones and ensuring your assets are distributed as you intend, it doesn’t control everything
you own. So, a will isn’t enough. The following is a list of assets you probably have that your will doesn’t control.

 

Life Insurance Policies – the death benefit generally goes to the beneficiary you named on the policy.

 

Retirement Accounts – Accounts such as 401(k)s, IRAs, or similar accounts typically pass to the beneficiary you named.

 

Payable-on-death (POD) Bank Accounts – Like life insurance policies and retirement accounts, any money in the account will go to the individual (or individuals)
you named as beneficiaries.

 

Transfer-on-death (TOD) Accounts – This can vary by state; some investment and other accounts can transfer directly to designated beneficiaries.

 

Jointly owned property with survivorship rights – Depending on how the property is titled, your share may transfer automatically to the surviving owner rather
than going through your will.

 

Assets already owned by a trust – Property held in a trust generally passes based on the trust’s instructions, not the will’s instructions.

 

I encourage my clients to review not only their will and trust periodically but also their beneficiary designations. They may have forgotten that they named a
charity as a beneficiary that they no longer support. Or named a friend with whom they’ve become estranged. Don’t get caught in the “Ok I checked the will and the trust, and all is good.” Take that extra step; it won’t take long to make sure your beneficiaries
are up to date, too.

You know, once I help a client with their estate plan, maintaining it isn’t difficult. In fact, I provide a complimentary review of their plan every three years to help make sure everything is still as it should be. I would
be happy to help you create or update your plan. Call me at 513-399-7526 to set up a meeting or visit my website at
www.davidlefton.com.