To most persons, thinking about death is an abomination. However, this is a reality of life that we cannot wish away. This is the reason why it is important to write a will so that your dependents can be comfortable when you leave this world. Knowing your dependents is the first step in writing the will. 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 successor to an estate or other assets is the beneficiary. 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. There are life changes that can lead you to change the content of the will. Of importance also is that you should also have alternate or secondary beneficiaries. If the primary beneficiary dies, the secondary one takes over. Keep your will documents up to date.
Beneficiaries fall in different categories. The first category has irrevocable beneficiaries. Get legal counsel and financial advice before settling on an irrevocable beneficiary. It is very difficult to change the identified irrevocable beneficiaries. Then there are revocable beneficiaries. It is possible to alter revocable beneficiaries. Beneficiaries can be altered due to things like marriage or divorce.
A primary beneficiary is defined as the person who is in line directly to receive your assets upon your death. Most insurance companies want to know the primary beneficiary. Contingent or alternate beneficiaries form another group of beneficiaries. This is the alternative beneficiary if the primary beneficiary was to die before getting the inheritance. Apart from the primary and the alternate, there are also residuary beneficiaries. These are persons named to receive specific items from the benefactor. For instance, a grandmother can name a grandchild to receive her special ornaments upon her death.
Point to remember is that residuary beneficiaries can also have alternate residuary beneficiaries in place. People to be named in a will are many. The spouse is the most preferred person by most people. The alternate beneficiary should be named after naming the spouse. Children would be the ideal alternate beneficiaries after the spouse is named as the primary beneficiary. Most people do however name children as primary beneficiaries.
It is also possible to have charities and friends as beneficiaries in your will. These are just life choices. You can get more info about wills and beneficiaries online and grow your knowledge appropriately from this site. In conclusion, it is important to write your will early since we never know what will happen next in life.
