Tip – Review your beneficiary designations on investments and insurance policies.

Imagine a circle containing everything you own: your home, vehicles, bank accounts, investments, insurance policies, IRAs, and retirement accounts. Everything within that circle constitutes your estate.

Your estate assets can pass to your chosen recipients through several mechanisms. Property held jointly with right of survivorship automatically passes to the surviving owner. For example, bank accounts held in joint tenancy or real property held by a married couple as community property with a right of survivorship. You might establish a Payable-on-Death (POD) designation at your bank, allowing funds to transfer directly to named beneficiaries. Alternatively, assets can transfer through probate according to the instructions in your Will.

Families sometimes discover after a loved one’s death that the decedent either named their “Estate” as beneficiary or left the beneficiary field blank, causing the death benefit to default to the estate. Insurance companies cannot release funds to an estate without a court order, which means you would need to probate. A probate petition would need to be filed to have a personal representative
appointed to collect the proceeds, when in some cases, it wouldn’t have been necessary.

Whether you establish a Will or a Trust, it’s essential to review beneficiary designations on investment accounts and life insurance policies. Taking this step during your estate planning process helps ensure that proceeds reach your intended beneficiaries and facilitates a smooth transfer of assets.

Tom Packer is an Elder Law Attorney serving all Southeast Idaho. As part of his law practice, Tom offers Life Care Planning to deal with the challenges created by long-term illness, disability and incapacity. If you have a question about a Senior’s legal, financial or healthcare needs, please call us.

November 2025