To most persons, thinking about death is an abomination. However, this is a reality of life that we cannot wish away. This is why you are advised to write a will early in life. Knowing your dependents is the first step in writing the will. There are many people who can be the dependents. It is also important for dependents to understand the will and how to translate its contents.
A beneficiary is defined as the person named in the will to inherit the property. The successor to an estate or other assets is the beneficiary. Sometimes the beneficiary is a minor which means that they will wait to reach legal age to get the benefits in the will. The benefactor should tell the beneficiaries about the will early. This avoids confusion upon death.
A written will should be revisited once in a while. There are life changes that can lead you to change the content of the will. Of importance also is that you should also have alternate or secondary beneficiaries. In case the primary beneficiary in the will dies, the secondary one takes over. Always ensure your will documents are up to date.
There are several categories of beneficiaries. The first one is the irrevocable beneficiary. Get legal counsel and financial advice before settling on an irrevocable beneficiary. Irrevocable beneficiaries are very difficult to change. The second type is the revocable beneficiary. It is possible to alter revocable beneficiaries. Things like marriage or divorce can call for alteration of beneficiaries.
A primary beneficiary is defined as the person who is in line directly to receive your assets upon your death. Most insurance companies want to know the primary beneficiary. The other group of beneficiaries is the contingent or alternate beneficiary. If the primary beneficiary dies before inheriting the property, the contingent beneficiary gets the assets. Apart from the primary and the alternate, there are also residuary beneficiaries. These are named to get very particular items from the benefactors. For instance, a grandmother can name a grandchild to receive her special ornaments upon her death.
Point to remember is that residuary beneficiaries can also have alternate residuary beneficiaries in place. A will can name many people. Most people prefer to name their spouses as primary beneficiaries. The alternate beneficiary should be named after naming the spouse. A good choice here would be the children. There are many people who prefer to have children as primary beneficiaries.
There are special cases where people name friends or charities as beneficiaries to their assets. It is a personal choice. More information about wills can be found online for further reading. In conclusion, it is important to write your will early since we never know what will happen next in life.