In a recent article by Forbes it was articulated why financial plans are not only for the 1%. This is #7 of their top ten reasons.
” 7. It will help you identify risks you hadn’t thought of.
Part of a financial plan is looking at risk capacity: What is your risk of becoming disabled and being unable to support yourself or your family, or dying early and saddling your family with an un-manageable mortgage payment?
Pemberton recalled a couple that came to him on top of all their finances. “No will,” he said. “In the state of North Carolina, if one of them was to die and had assets in their name alone, half of those assets would go to that person’s parents, not to their spouse.” “
From my personal experience of over 25 years in financial planning I recommend everyone check their named beneficiaries. Your retirement accounts, life insurance, IRAs or bank accounts – just to name a few – might have a named beneficiary who is no longer the person you want to have in that position. This is especially important if you have a previous spouse and you are now in a new relationship. If anything happens to you, your ex-spouse might receive what you want to go to someone else!