It’s important to review the beneficiary designations on accounts like life insurance, IRAs and pensions. There have been many cases of retirement account owners who have been divorced and remarried but failed to update their beneficiary designations. There are even more cases of account owners failing to update designations after a change of broker, or a major life change with the account holder or their heirs. If you forget to update your beneficiary designations, you may

Under the 2018 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), any divorce finalized after January 1, 2019 will not allow for the deduction of spousal support, also commonly known as ‘alimony’. Because of the looming changes in the law, there has been a rush to the court-house to accelerate divorces in places like California and New York. New Mexico does not keep updates stats on the numbers of divorces filed, but one local Albuquerque divorce attorney for wealthy clients has noted a recent

Although not part of the ‘direct estate,’ beneficiary designations are an important part of a person’s overall estate. So when changes occur in a person’s life, especially something as momentous as a divorce, it is especially important that changes are made to the beneficiary designation forms. With the rising prevalence of divorce, this issue recently came before the US Supreme Court with a very important result. In 2018, the Court heard a case involving a 2002 Minnesota la

He left all his money to her?!?! Building assets for retirement may seem like challenge enough, but designating beneficiaries to inherit those assets can bring an entirely new set of considerations into the mix. While it may seem simple to use the first name that comes to mind (a spouse, a child or a sibling) on the beneficiary designation form, you should know the ramifications first. Here's a guide to what's involved. Beneficiary Designation Basics Most retirement plans, a

When is the last time you updated your beneficiary designations? It's truly amazing the amount of people who have prior spouses or deceased relatives still named as a beneficiary on a retirement account at a former employer, or on a life insurance policy purchased long ago. But leaving a spouse or significant other as a beneficiary was that due to 'inattention' or 'intention'? In fact, this issue is so prevalent that now state legislatures and even the US Supreme Court are