In Brainerd, Minnesota, people who invest in IRAs often neglect to name primary beneficiaries when they open their accounts. People think they will name their beneficiaries at a later date but then forget to update the information. It is always a good idea to name beneficiaries on a retirement account to prevent holdings from going into an estate. Failing to update an IRA is another mistake. For instance, a person may have named a beneficiary several years ago but neglect to update the information after the beneficiary passes away.

People who value the amount of time they spent working to earn their investment monies should name their beneficiaries on the appropriate IRA documents. A single person with no heirs may want to name a charitable organization as their beneficiary. Whether leaving money to a nephew or a charity, the main thing to bear in mind is that naming a beneficiary is a simple task that only takes a few minutes.

Most people name their spouses as primary beneficiaries. Sometimes, a person may not want to name a spouse as a beneficiary, especially if the spouse is a high-net-worth individual. In this situation, a person may want to name a child as a primary beneficiary instead of their spouse. A spouse named as a primary beneficiary has the right to make the deceased spouse’s IRA their own without having to transfer funds. Other beneficiaries need to either transfer the shares or monies to their own IRAs or take taxable distributions.

A person who wants to know more about estate planning may want to contact a lawyer for more information. An estate planning attorney answers probate questions and helps a client prepare and file essential legal documents. It is easy to set up an initial appointment via a simple phone call.