Dear Bernard,,

Do you review any end-of-year planning for your finances?

If you are like many others, your year-end planning is focused on income, taxes, savings amounts, and other items that need to be addressed at, or near, December 31. However, when was the last time you looked at your estate plan? Or, more specifically, your beneficiaries?

In our industry, we hear anecdotes of people who have died and left large sums of money to ex-spouses, or boy/girl friends. While these are humorous and told like urban legends, they do happen.

Years ago, while working with a 401(k) plan, one of the participants passed away. She had expressed to her employer and her daughter of her desire to leave her retirement funds to the daughter if something happened to her. Unfortunately, she passed away and had listed a former boyfriend as the beneficiary. The boyfriend was understanding and refused the money, but it could have gone the other way.

I have even had a family member not make the proper steps to ensure whom he wanted as a beneficiary. He believed he was set since he had discussed it with his current wife. However, through various failures on his part, he ended up disinheriting his own children (for the record, he was not my client).

According to various reports, including Prudential Annuities:

• U.S. Households will transfer $72.6 trillion in wealth to heirs and $11.9 trillion to charities in the next 25 years.
• 62% of U.S. adults have no will.
• Total value of inheritances per year has risen 119% over the past three decades.

With this much money set to change hands, it is wise to make sure your designations reflect your wishes.

In addition, since most IRAs and company-sponsored retirement plans, annuities, and life insurance pass by beneficial decree, these assets may bypass your Will altogether (if you do happen to have one).

The bottom line is, if there have been changes to your family situation (birth, death, divorce), you have changed where you live, or just having allowed time to pass, a review is strongly recommended.

As with many things financial, if you would like, we can hep you with this audit to be sure your wishes are carried out "just in case."

As always, thanks for reading.

Bernie & Chad