Special Needs Planning Mistake 3 Not Verifying Beneficiary Designations, Retirement Accounts and more is a mistake. Learn why…

Most people think that their will dictates where all of their assets will go after they die. While wills and Trusts identify who’ll inherit many assets, they don’t control where insurance proceeds will go nor determine the beneficiary of an employer retirement account or IRA. Beneficiary designations determine who gets the money when the owner dies. Beneficiary designations ensure that assets flow into a Special Needs Trust and not directly to the individual with a disability. This distinction can be the difference between maintaining and losing, temporarily, government benefits such as Medicaid and SSI. A problem we often encounter is that people wrongly assume they know who the beneficiaries are on their retirement accounts and insurance policies. A beneficiary change requested, but not implemented by the carrier, can also be problematic. We’ll help you here at Oak Wealth Advisors verify all your beneficiaries and avoid any incorrect distributions.