The importance of designating beneficiaries

You may be missing an essential part of your Hoosier START account: your beneficiary designations.

Without beneficiaries:

Your estate must go through a probate process to determine how your assets are distributed

Your intentions for your estate might go unknown

You may cause hardship for your heirs as they try to resolve your intentions or wait for your estate to go through probate

Additionally, incomplete or outdated beneficiaries can also cause challenges for your estate and result in your designations not matching your will or trust. For example, if an ex-spouse is left as a beneficiary, even if your will states your money goes elsewhere, the beneficiary designation is the binding designation. This can make resolving your estate a challenge for surviving heirs or can result in your true intentions not being carried out.

Take time to complete or review your beneficiary designations
By updating your account and ensuring that your beneficiaries are accurate and complete, you are protecting your interests and your loved ones. Ideally, your will or trust and your beneficiary designations will work together to accomplish your goals for your estate.

Once a year and after any major life event, take the time to review your beneficiaries and update them if necessary.