Money Monday: Explaining beneficiaries and the financial impact they have
WLWT NEWS 5 LEADING THE WAY. WE ARE HERE TO HELP YOU STAY ONE STEP AHEAD WITH YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY. JOINING US FOR TODAY’S MONEY MONDAY IS MEGAN HAMMERMAN WITH HEALTHQUEST. SHE IS HERE TO TALK ALL ABOUT A VERY IMPORTANT FINANCIAL DETAIL THAT IS OFTEN OVERLOOKED AND CAN REALLY HAVE A BIG IMPACT DOWN THE ROAD BENEFICIARY. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. HELP US FIRST DEFINE WHAT IS THIS TERM. WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR SOMEONE WHO MIGHT NOT KNOW? YES. SO A BENEFICIARY IS BASICALLY A PERSON THAT YOU HAVE DESIGNATED THAT YOU WANT TO RECEIVE YOUR MONEY. ONCE YOU PASS. AND SO IT IS THE PERSON THAT YOU HAVE PUT ON YOUR ACCOUNTS THAT SAYS, THIS IS THE PERSON THAT I WANTED TO RECEIVE THAT MONEY. WHEN DO YOU TYPICALLY SEE WHEN PEOPLE ARE SETTING THOSE BENEFICIARIES? AND OFTEN DOES THAT BECOME OUTDATED? YES, IT ACTUALLY DOES. SO FOR THINGS LIKE LIFE INSURANCE POLICIES AND RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS, WE TEND TO SEE THAT PEOPLE SET BENEFICIARIES WHEN THEY OPEN THOSE ACCOUNTS. AND BECAUSE THEY’RE INTENDED TO BE LONG TERM ACCOUNTS, WE OFTEN HAVE THIS SET IT AND FORGET IT MINDSET, WHICH CAN BE REALLY GREAT. BUT ONE OF THE CHALLENGES IS THAT WE DON’T GO BACK AND REVIEW AS LIFE EVOLVES. AND SO THINGS LIKE BENEFICIARIES TEND TO GET OVERLOOKED. AND I THINK EVEN WHEN WE LOOK AT BANK ACCOUNTS AND BROKERAGE ACCOUNTS, WE CAN SET UP WHAT’S CALLED A TRANSFER ON DEATH, A T, O D OR A PAYABLE ON DEATH, A P O D DESIGNATION. THOSE ARE BENEFICIARIES. AND WE THINK THAT WE WOULD UPDATE THOSE MORE FREQUENTLY BECAUSE WE’RE IN THOSE ACCOUNTS MORE OFTEN. BUT I THINK IT’S ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT WE JUST FORGET BECAUSE WE’RE SO BUSY DOING OTHER FINANCIAL THINGS IN THOSE ACCOUNTS THAT WE JUST OVERLOOK IT. LIFE GETS SO BUSY, IT MIGHT NOT BE THE THING THAT’S TOP OF MIND. WHAT OTHER MISTAKES DO YOU SEE WHEN IT COMES TO BENEFICIARIES? THERE ARE PROBABLY THREE THAT I WOULD SAY ARE MOST COMMON. I THINK THE FIRST ONE IS THAT WE DON’T GO IN AND REVIEW ONCE BIG LIFE CHANGES HAPPEN. SO IF WE HAVE THE DEATH OF A LOVED ONE, SOMEONE THAT WE’VE NAMED IN OUR DOCUMENTS OR IN OUR BENEFICIARIES WHEN WE GET MARRIED OR REALLY, YOU KNOW, OFTEN WHEN WE GET DIVORCED AND THERE’S SO MUCH THAT HAPPENS DURING LIFE IN THOSE TIMES THAT, YOU KNOW, WE DON’T WANT TO GO IN AND WE DON’T PRIORITIZE LOOKING AT THOSE. SO THAT’S SOMETHING THAT WE WANT TO DO. I THINK THE SECOND ONE IS LISTING MINOR CHILDREN AS DIRECT BENEFICIARIES. AND THAT ISN’T INHERENTLY WRONG, BUT WHAT WE NEED TO BE AWARE OF IS THAT MINOR CHILDREN CAN’T MANAGE OR OWN THOSE ASSETS UNTIL THEIR ACTUAL LEGAL ADULTS. SO TYPICALLY 18 OR 19. AND SO THEY’RE JUST EXTRA STEPS THAT PEOPLE NEED TO MAKE SURE TRANSITIONS PROPERLY. AND I WOULD SAY THE THIRD THING THAT IS REALLY A MISCONCEPTION IS THAT WHEN WE SET BENEFICIARIES AT CERTAIN ACCOUNTS AND WITH CERTAIN INSTITUTIONS, PEOPLE ARE SURPRISED TO LEARN THAT THOSE DESIGNATIONS ACTUALLY OVERRIDE WHAT’S IN YOUR WILL. AND SO PEOPLE OFTEN THINK THAT BECAUSE I HAVE A WILL AND I HAVE UPDATED IT, THAT IT’S ALL ENCOMPASSING AND I’M PROTECTED, BUT THAT’S NOT NECESSARILY THE CASE. AND SO EVEN IF WE HAVE A WILL, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GO IN AND MAKE SURE THAT WE UPDATE THOSE INDIVIDUAL BENEFICIARIES AT THOSE SPECIFIC INSTITUTIONS. SO IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE ARE A COUPLE OF BLIND SPOTS PEOPLE MIGHT NOT BE THINKING OF. IS THERE LIKE A MID-YEAR CHECK IN SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE SHOULD KIND OF REMIND THEMSELVES TO DO TO STAY ON TOP OF THIS? THERE IS, AND NOW IS ACTUALLY A REALLY GREAT TIME TO DO IT, BECAUSE WE ARE ALMOST AT THE END OF TAX SEASON. WE’RE REALLY CLOSE, BUT I THINK PEOPLE HAVE A BETTER PULSE ON THEIR FINANCES NOW BECAUSE WE’VE BEEN GETTING THOSE FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS AND WE’VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT OUR MONEY. AND SO WE HAVE A BETTER SENSE OF THE ACCOUNTS THAT WE HAVE. AND SO I THINK MAKING A LIST OF ALL OF THE ACCOUNTS AND THEN JUST BEING AWARE THAT WE WANT TO CHECK IN, I TYPICALLY SAY EVERY 3 TO 5 YEARS, OR IF SOMETHING MAJOR HAPPENS IN OUR LIFE, GO THROUGH AND JUST DOUBLE CHECK THAT ACTUALLY FULFILLS THE INTENTION THAT YOU HAVE AND WHERE YOU WANT YOUR MONEY TO GO. I LOVE THAT IT’S GOOD TO BE ON TOP OF IT BECAUSE ANYTHING WHEN SOMETHING’S GOING ON IN YOUR LIFE, EMOTIONS, LIFE GETS BUSY. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THAT INFORMATION. WE APPRECIATE YOU JOINING US HERE TODAY. GO
Money Monday: Explaining beneficiaries and the financial impact they have
Everyone wants to stay one step ahead with their hard-earned money and the latest segment of Money Monday will help people do that.In the latest Money Monday, WLWT was joined by Megan Hammann with WealthQuest, who talked about an important financial detail people often overlook: beneficiaries.See the full interview in the video player at the top of the story.
Everyone wants to stay one step ahead with their hard-earned money and the latest segment of Money Monday will help people do that.
In the latest Money Monday, WLWT was joined by Megan Hammann with WealthQuest, who talked about an important financial detail people often overlook: beneficiaries.
See the full interview in the video player at the top of the story.