Your beneficiary is a person or entity (like a charity) who will get assets from you or your estate. They could be a beneficiary of an insurance policy, a trust you have established, or the property or money you leave behind (your estate) when you die. It is important to designate the people or entities you want to receive your assets. It’s also important to think about who would get those same assets if your beneficiaries die before you, or the charity has closed, and you haven’t changed the beneficiary designation.
Most of us know who we want to get our assets when we die – our spouses, our children, a relative who has financial need, our church, or charity that is near and dear to us. These are your beneficiaries. Beller Law attorney help to make sure your beneficiaries get what you intended for them.
For instance, you can’t give your home away if you still have any children under 18. And if there is a mortgage on the property, you have to think about how the mortgage will be paid so the house won’t be lost. Also, you can’t give property or money away if it is jointly titled with someone else (the joint owner may automatically get the property, depending on the title). And the specific property or amounts of money you want to give away today may not be there when you die.
Making a will starts with a clear plan as to what you have and who your beneficiaries are. Beller Law attorney then help ensure that your plan is clear, does what you want it to do, and is legally enforceable.