Februarys’ the time of year I start to think ahead in budgetary terms and begin gathering statements to file last year’s taxes. The holidays are over; winter has set in so the timing is right. An incentive to start this process is the prospect of my tax return being in the positive and receiving a check from Uncle Sam.
As part of this procedure don’t forget to review and update your designated beneficiaries on any financial documents such as insurance policies, mutual funds, IRA’s, CD’s and alike. We often forget to review them and it is quite important for many reasons. Your relationships change over time as well as those of your children and major life events such as marriages, births, and death of loved ones could influence your choice of beneficiaries. In addition to beneficiary names, be sure their addresses are listed and up-to-date.
Each year billions of dollars go unclaimed because beneficiaries cannot be located. Upon your passing you want your loved ones to be taken care of. The insurance and financial institutions only look for so long to pay out claims. It’s in your best interest to check the details. Each of us work too hard in our lifetimes building our wealth; to not pay attention to this small detail would be a shame.
“It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen” by John Wooden
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