What is a beneficiary? Where do I need to designate one?

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You’ve finally gotten a real job and it comes with benefits! Wow—health insurance and a retirement plan and even some life insurance! But what are these extra forms asking for “beneficiary information”? What should you fill in? What is a beneficiary, and why do you need one?

Or maybe you’ve been working for years and are doing some estate planning. Are your beneficiaries set up according to your wishes? Or are your parents getting older and you need to make sure their affairs are in order? You should know about the beneficiaries they have set up for their accounts.

A beneficiary is the term for a person or entity (such as a charity or a trust) who receives some type of benefit after the owner passes away. A beneficiary is named through paperwork when the asset (such as a retirement account) is established, although you can change it at any point before your death. In some cases, such as when purchasing a life insurance policy, you must name a beneficiary before you can complete the policy transaction.

You can also split your assets and designate more than one beneficiary.

When your assets have a beneficiary, they automatically pass to that person or entity after your death without going through probate. Probate is a process by which your estate is settled via the court system, and it can take several months, significant paperwork, and jumping through legal hoops. Any asset that doesn’t have a beneficiary when you die will become part of your estate and will be subject to probate.

Several different types of assets can have a beneficiary:

Typically you have to make a special request to designate beneficiaries for your bank and investment accounts. This paperwork can usually be provided by your bank or financial institution for free.

Note that if your accounts are jointly owned by your spouse, you would both need to pass away before your assets pass to another named beneficiary.

If you become unable to manage your own assets, your money in a POD account will not pass to your beneficiaries. So if you go into a coma or you have dementia, your checking account will not automatically be accessible by your POD beneficiary. Additional paperwork, such as a power of attorney, would be required to give access to those funds during your life.

Also, note that your POD accounts will automatically be paid out to your beneficiaries at the time of your death, which may leave your executor without enough cash to settle your estate. For example, if you have $10,000 in your checking account when you die, and your two children Tom and Sue are set up as POD beneficiaries, they will each receive $5,000. If Sue is your executor, she will be responsible for paying your utilities until your house is sold, as well as your credit card bills and other debts at the time of your death. If there are no other accounts owned by the estate, Sue will have to ask Tom for part of his share of the POD money to pay off debts.

If you are married, you’ll most likely want to list your spouse as your beneficiary. In fact, your retirement accounts might require you to list your spouse unless you get written permission from them to list another person as a beneficiary. Certain states might require that at least 50% of certain assets go to your spouse upon your death.

If you aren’t married, what should you do? If you’re young, you might want to list your parent(s) or sibling(s). Or maybe you want to leave your accounts to a niece or nephew, or to a charity. Should you consider designating your significant other if you are not married? If you do, make sure to change your paperwork if you break up, unless you want that person to receive your assets.

If something happens to your primary beneficiary before they receive your assets, the benefits will instead go to a “contingent” beneficiary or beneficiaries. For example, your spouse might be listed as your first beneficiary, and your children as contingent beneficiaries. This way, they get your assets if your spouse dies first.

What happens if one of several beneficiaries or contingent beneficiaries dies before you? What if you listed your brother and sister as primary beneficiaries and your brother dies before you? Will your sister get it all, or will your brother’s children receive assets from your estate?

Some documents require that the share of your assets transfers to your beneficiary’s heir if they have predeceased you; other documents require that only the remaining beneficiaries split the assets. The court may get involved if there’s ambiguity. As with all aspects of estate planning, make sure you read your beneficiary documents carefully and keep them updated so your wishes are followed.

If you’re new to the working world and are designating beneficiaries for the first time, make sure you give it some careful thought. It’s a good idea to review your beneficiaries each year. Are your chosen beneficiaries still alive? Do you still want to give your assets to your current beneficiaries? Does your estate have enough other funds to pay final bills if your bank accounts are set up as POD? If you had a recent life change, such as a marriage, divorce, or the birth of a child, did you update your beneficiary forms?

Finally, although setting up beneficiaries will cover the distribution of many of your assets upon your death, consider setting up a will or trust to make sure that your final wishes are completely followed.