Be As Specific As Possible When Designating Beneficiaries In Your Estate Plan
Remember how surprised you were when you found out that your uncle’s name wasn’t Bubba, even though that was what everyone called him? For your entire life, his siblings, parents, and friends had only ever called him Bubba? Maybe he was filling out forms at a rental car office before you embarked on a road trip that his own car had little chance of surviving, and you said, “Uncle Bubba, that isn’t your name!” Maybe Uncle Bubba was exchanging wedding vows, and the priest said, “Do you, Branwell Bloggins, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?” In your tiny voice, but loud enough for everyone in the church to hear, you said, “Daddy, he got Uncle Bubba’s name wrong! Aren’t you going to say something?” Eventually, you figured out that the adults in your family knew that Branwell and Bubba were the same person, but not everyone knows that. Perhaps your younger cousins still only knew him as Bubba, and the people at the car rental place, unless he was a frequent customer, only knew him as Branwell, or else as Mr. Bloggins. In other words, strangers do not know that Branwell Bloggins is Uncle Bubba, and that includes the strangers at the probate court. To ensure that your estate planning documents are unambiguous, contact an Orlando estate planning lawyer.
Beneficiaries Are Not Just for Wills
Ambiguity is what makes poems and mystery novels interesting, but it does not belong in your will. The probate court’s interpretation of your will is legally binding though; it determines who inherits what from your estate, and when it does, you will not be around to object. Therefore, you should include enough information about the beneficiary that the probate court can only match the information to one person. If you say, “I leave my Ford Pinto to Branwell Bloggins of Lakeland, Florida, known as Bubba,” that could mean your Uncle Bubba, or it could mean your son Bubba, named after his great uncle. If possible, include full names, relationships, addresses, and even Social Security numbers. Whatever you do, don’t just say, “my sister Bronwen.” If you do this, then thanks to unscrupulous estate research firms, dozens of women named Bronwen will come out of the woodwork, brandishing DNA test results and claiming to be your half-sisters.
Remember that your will is not the only estate planning document that requires you to list beneficiaries. You should also observe this level of specificity when you list beneficiaries of a trust, a transfer on death (TOD) or payable on death (POD) bank account, or even transferrable frequent flyer miles. You should also be this specific when designating an agent for a power of attorney.
Contact Gierach and Gierach About Being Specific in Your Estate Plan
An estate planning lawyer can help you avoid misunderstandings about your will and other estate planning documents. Contact Gierach and Gierach, P.A. in Orlando, Florida to discuss your case.
Source:
wealthyaccountant.com/2024/12/09/never-name-as-beneficiary/
