Page 7 - Jupiter West - July '24

Jupiter West, Page 7
Financial Focus
Be Careful When Naming
Beneficiaries
By Sally Sima Stahl
You might not have
thought much about
beneficiary designations —
but they can play a big role
in your estate planning.
When you purchase
insurance policies and open
investment accounts, such as
your IRA, you’ll be asked to
name a beneficiary, and, in
some cases, more than one.
This might seem easy, especially if you have a spouse and
children, but if you experience a major life event, such as a
divorce or a death in the family, you may need to make some
®
changes — because beneficiary designations carry a lot of them as a non-spouse beneficiary after the divorce. But if you’ve
weight under the law.
named your spouse as beneficiary for a 401(k) plan or pension,
In fact, these designations can supersede the instructions you the designation will remain intact until and unless you change
may have written in your will or living trust, so everyone in your it, regardless of where you live.
family should know who is expected to get which assets. One However, in community property states, couples are generally
significant benefit of having proper beneficiary designations in required to split equally all assets they acquired during their
place is that they may enable beneficiaries to avoid the time- marriage. When couples divorce, the community property laws
consuming — and possibly expensive — probate process. require they split their assets 50/50, but only those assets they
The beneficiary issue can become complex because not obtained while they lived in that state. If you were to stay in the
everyone reacts the same way to events such as divorce — some same community property state throughout your marriage and
people want their ex-spouses to still receive assets while others divorce, the ownership issue is generally straightforward, but if
don’t. Furthermore, not all the states have the same rules about you were to move to or from one of these states, it might change
how beneficiary designations are treated after a divorce. And the joint ownership picture.
some financial assets are treated differently than others. Thus far, we’ve only talked about beneficiary designation
Here’s the big picture: If you’ve named your spouse as a issues surrounding divorce. But if an ex-spouse — or any
beneficiary of an IRA, bank or brokerage account, insurance beneficiary — passes away, the assets will generally pass to
policy, will or trust, this beneficiary designation will automatically a contingent beneficiary — which is why it’s important that
be revoked upon divorce in about half the states. So, if you still you name one at the same time you designate the primary
want your ex-spouse to get these assets, you will need to name beneficiary. Also, it may be appropriate to name a special needs
trust as beneficiary for a family member who has special needs
or becomes disabled. If this individual were to be the direct
beneficiary, any assets passing directly into their hands could
affect their eligibility for certain programs.
You may need to work with a legal professional to sort out
beneficiary designation issues and the rules that apply in your
state. But you may also want to do a beneficiary review with your
financial advisor whenever you experience a major life event,
such as a marriage, divorce or the addition of a new child. Your
investments, retirement accounts and life insurance proceeds are
valuable assets — and you want them to go where you intended.
This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local
Edward Jones Financial Advisor, Edward Jones, Member SIPC.
Edward Jones is a licensed insurance producer in all states
and Washington, D.C., through Edward D. Jones & Co., L.P., and
in California, New Mexico and Massachusetts through Edward
Jones Insurance Agency of California, L.L.C.; Edward Jones
Insurance Agency of New Mexico, L.L.C.; and Edward Jones
Insurance Agency of Massachusetts, L.L.C.
Edward Jones, its employees and financial advisors cannot
provide tax advice. You should consult your qualified tax advisor
regarding your situation.
Contact us at (561) 748-7600, Sally Sima Stahl, AAMS, 1851
W. Indiantown Road, Ste. 106, Jupiter, FL 33458.
Three Step Plan For College from page 6
building. College applicants submit a resume as part of
the admission process. Teens benefit from coaching on
the best activities to become involved with to include
on their resume. Most college admissions officers
prefer a well-rounded individual as compared to a
one-dimensional bookworm.
A second important step is test preparation. Have
you heard that test scores are often optional and don’t
really matter for college admission? That’s not exactly
true. When applying to highly competitive universities
the admission officer examines applications and when
two applicants are equal on paper, the one with test
scores has the admission edge. Thus, your student
needs test preparation for the ACT and SAT tests.
A third step to preparing for college is crafting an
amazing essay. Admission officers really read every
applicant’s essay. They look for a distinguisher that
captures the essence of the teen and how they will
contribute to making the university a better institution.
Thus, participating in essay workshops and working
with an expert essay college planner helps to best
position your student.
I recommend the one-to-one college planning
services of Class 101 North Palm Beach. They provide
ten college planning services which includes the three
in this article to give your student an edge in the
competitive college admission process.
We test high school students who need ACT and
SAT accommodations such as extended time, stop the
clock brain breaks, and small group testing. Call (561)
625-4125 to discuss your child or visit JimForgan.com.