Planning Life Insurance Designations

Assets such as life insurance and retirement accounts typically pass by beneficiary designation upon your death. Similarly, some non-retirement accounts may allow you to name beneficiaries. Such accounts are commonly referred to as payable on death (POD) or transfer on death (TOD) accounts.

Assets with a beneficiary designation will pass directly to the named beneficiary or beneficiaries upon your death (assuming, of course, that one or more beneficiaries have been named and such beneficiaries survive you). This means that the provisions in your will or trust will not necessarily control who receives these assets; rather, the beneficiary designation will dictate who will receive these assets upon your death.