A Guide to Will Beneficiaries
Most people do not like thinking about their death. It is however impossible to ignore death as a reality of life. This is the reason why it is important to write a will so that your dependents can be comfortable when you leave this world. To write a will, start by identifying your dependents. Dependents can be different people ranging from family members to friends. Of importance is to ensure they know in advance.
The definition of a beneficiary is the person who is in line for inheritance upon death of the owner of the will. The beneficiary is named as a successor of an estate, investment or even insurance policy. Sometimes the beneficiary is a minor which means that they will wait to reach legal age to get the benefits in the will. 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. Life brings about many changes hence the need to review a will regularly. Consider having alternate beneficiaries in the will. If the primary beneficiary dies, the secondary one takes over. Ensure that your will is updated at all times.
There are several categories of beneficiaries. The first one is the irrevocable beneficiary. Get legal counsel and financial advice before settling on an irrevocable beneficiary. This is because it is very difficult to change these beneficiaries once they have been included in the will. On the other hand, there are revocable beneficiaries. This category of beneficiaries can be altered. Beneficiaries can be altered due to things like marriage or divorce.
A primary beneficiary is basically the person who receives the money once you die. This person is of interest to most insurance companies. Contingent or alternate beneficiaries form another group of beneficiaries. If the primary beneficiary dies before inheriting the property, the contingent beneficiary gets the assets. Another group is that of residuary beneficiaries. These are persons named to receive specific items from the benefactor. An example is when a grandmother assigns a particular jewel to a grandchild.
Point to remember is that residuary beneficiaries can also have alternate residuary beneficiaries in place. A will can name many people. The spouse is the most preferred person by most people. After naming the spouse, it is good to name the alternate beneficiary. Children fit this part perfectly. Most people do however name children as primary beneficiaries.
Friends and charities can also be named as beneficiaries. These are just life choices. To get more info and discover more about how to write your will, visit the homepage of a credible website and learn more. The fact that we never know when death will come to us means that writing a will early is of vital importance.