Beneficiary Designation

What this video covers

• Why a beneficiary designation overrides the will or trust for that specific account, and which accounts this rule applies to
• The hierarchy of primary versus contingent beneficiaries, and what happens when no named beneficiary survives the account holder
• How per stirpes ("by branch") passes a deceased beneficiary's share down to their descendants versus how per capita ("by head") redistributes to surviving beneficiaries only
• Why there is no universal default between per stirpes and per capita, and what determines the default for any given account
• The ERISA employer plan exception: why federal law generally does not auto-revoke an ex-spouse beneficiary designation upon divorce
• Why updating the will alone never updates the account beneficiary form, and who actually holds and maintains those forms
• Best practices advisers should follow during client reviews to prevent outdated designations