Beneficiaries are the cornerstone of estate planning. Everything you have worked for and mementos that have meaning to your family will find new homes when you give them to beloved family members and friends. You can revise your choices during your lifetime, but generally, people choose their children as beneficiaries to give them a solid financial footing and family heirlooms.
You may believe that dying without a will will not matter because your family will still receive your assets, but you could be unpleasantly surprised when someone gets the assets you wanted to share with a specific family member. Dying intestate means the probate court will determine who gets what. For expert guidance about beneficiary designations in Virginia Beach estate planning, contact the knowledgeable attorneys at Parks Zeigler, PLLC, now.
Designating Beneficiaries Avoids Unintended Consequences
Wills are not the only estate planning document that names beneficiaries, and assets are more than money. Assets can include business interests, heirlooms, jewelry, real estate, stock holdings, life insurance policies, and retirement accounts, and they can be bequeathed in several ways.
However, the most common document that transfers assets to beneficiaries is the will. Without one, Virginia Code Section § 64.2-200 determines distribution. Intestate laws give everything to a spouse if there are no children or if the children are also shared with that spouse. If there is a child or children the spouses do not share, the children of the decedent receive two-thirds of the intestate estate, and the spouse receives only one-third. If there is no spouse, the decedent’s children inherit all.
Without children or a spouse, an estate passes to the decedent’s parents and, if they are deceased, to the siblings. An estate planning attorney in Virginia Beach can ensure the beneficiaries you designate are the ones who inherit your property.
Trusts and Other Beneficiaries
Wills are not the only way to designate beneficiaries. Trusts circumvent the probate process and grant assets to named beneficiaries through revocable trusts, which allow the grantor to change beneficiaries during their lifetime, and irrevocable trusts that assume ownership of the assets to be distributed to named beneficiaries.
Life insurance policies name a beneficiary at the time they are adopted. Retirement accounts can similarly name a beneficiary, and bank accounts can be held as paid on death accounts naming a beneficiary with the bank. All these beneficiary designations circumvent probate in Virginia Beach.
The SECURE Act
The federal Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act helps Americans prepare for retirement with provisions that affect retirement account beneficiaries. Beneficiaries are now required to withdraw from these taxable accounts within 10 years.
Beneficiaries are Not Limited to Family
Although you cannot leave assets to a pet in your will, you can set up a trust that benefits them. Spouses and children are the usual beneficiaries in estate planning, but other candidates include any relative, friend, or charity.
Some assets, such as life insurance policies, require beneficiaries to have legitimate financial interests in the person who takes one out. Most pension funds and insurance policies come with specific rules for beneficiary designations that an estate planning lawyer in Virginia Beach can explain.
Our Virginia Beach Attorneys Ensure Your Beneficiary Designations Reflect Your Wishes
We understand thinking about what will happen to your assets after you die is stressful, and many people put off allocating them. Organizing your estate distribution can be a great weight off you and allows you to live on knowing the future is secure. Think about your prospective beneficiaries, including your business assets, and sit down with us.
Our role is to ensure what you have amassed over a lifetime changes hands exactly as you wish. Your beneficiaries do not have to be your family heirs but can be friends or charities. Parks Zeigler, PLLC, can guide your beneficiary designations in Virginia Beach estate planning. Call today.
