What Doesn’t a Will Cover?

• Life insurance. The cash proceeds from an insurance policy on your life are paid to whomever you have designated as beneficiary of the policy in a form filed with the insurance company Ñ no matter who the beneficiaries under your will may be.
• Retirement plans. Assets held in retirement plans, such as a 401(k) or an IRA, are transferred to whomever you have named as beneficiary in the plan documents.
• Assets owned as a joint tenant. Assets such as real estate, automobiles, bank accounts and other property held in joint tenancy will pass to the surviving joint tenant upon your death, not in accordance with any directions in your will.
• “Transfer on death” or “pay on death.” Securities and brokerage accounts may be registered or held with beneficiaries named on the security or account. Title is held in the name of the owner and the names of the beneficiaries are preceded by the words “transfer on death” or “TOD.” Other assets, such as bank accounts and U.S. savings bonds, may be held in a similar form using the owner’s name and the beneficiaries’ names preceded by the words “paid on death” or “POD.”
• “Community property with right of survivorship.” Married couples or registered domestic partners may hold title to their community property in their names as “community property with right of survivorship.” Property held in that manner at the death of the first spouse or domestic partner is not affected by that spouse’s will, but passes instead to the surviving spouse or domestic partner.
• Living trusts. Assets held in a revocable living trust at your death are distributed pursuant to the provisions of that trust document. A living trust allows for the management of your assets during your lifetime and the transfer of those assets pursuant to the terms of the trust without a court-supervised probate proceeding.

If the other joint tenant dies before you do, then the property held in joint tenancy will be in your name alone and subject to your will. If named beneficiaries die before you do, the assets subject to a beneficiary designation may be payable to your estate. To get started on your will, please choose a StateWill Form.