An effective estate plan requires:

(1) Control of Your Property. Clear instructions choosing who will be in control and directing what to do and how to do it at each stage of your life, and

(2) Proper Asset Ownership. I have seen perfect legal documents bypassed completely because of the way certain assets were owned. Certain assets – like bank accounts, brokerage accounts, life insurance policies, and annuities to name a few – are passed to the person or persons designated as the beneficiary of those assets. That beneficiary designation is a contract between you and your bank, brokerage firm, or life insurance company, and it is unaffected by the provisions of your Will or Trust. The beneficiary designation controls, not the terms of your Will or Trust.

I have seen terrible, unintended discord in families that results when a mom or dad passed away and their Will said everything was to be divided equally – but one child was named the sole beneficiary of a very valuable asset.