Unless you take the appropriate steps, much of what the Lord has entrusted to you to manage, that is your estate, may not go to those to whom you intended it to go. You may not realize even if you have a last will and testament much of what you own at the time of your death may not pass according to the terms of that will. Therefore, it is of utmost importance you engage in some planning to avoid unintentionally disinheriting your intended beneficiaries. Such planning is consistent with the biblical admonition of the Apostle Paul in I Timothy 5:8 “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”
Examples of accounts that do not pass according to the terms of your will are accounts for which you have named beneficiaries and accounts jointly owned with rights of survivorship. Retirement accounts and life insurance policies typically have named beneficiaries. If you intend for those funds to pass to the same beneficiaries as the ones named in your will, you must make sure you have coordinated the beneficiary designations with the provisions in your will. Bank accounts and real estate owned by married couples typically are jointly owned with rights of survivorship.
As a result, those assets pass directly to the surviving joint owner at the death of the first to die regardless of the beneficiary designations in the will of the first to die. So, I urge you to take the time to review all beneficiary designations and the way in which your assets are titled, and make sure they are all coordinated with your intentions so those you want to inherit will in fact inherit your estate. Furthermore, make sure your intentions are consistent with God’s intentions. Austin Wilkerson, trust counsel of the Kentucky Baptist Foundation, is just a phone call away to assist you in your planning (502.489.3426 There is no charge for this private, confidential consultation.
