Tag Archives: TOD

Why you should be careful when choosing your Beneficiaries

In a continuation of our Why series – if you want to see the entire series just scroll down to the right side of our blog site and change the category to “Why” – there are some neat ideas in our opinion….

And a topic that came up this week with much discussions, once again giving us a subject matter to share…

In a preview article to a more detailed Newsletter article that goes well with our Institutional Trustee article….

Why you should carefully choose your Beneficiariesbeneficiary - 42001392872_ddd235968d_m

The most important point to remember is that whatever your account title  (IRA, Trust, TOD – transfer on death) documentation has deemed a beneficiary, that is where the funds will go, without regard to what your Will or even what Trust documentation may say…

Making sure all of your title documents send fund to where/whom you currently desire….

Want some examples we have seen over the last three decades:

  • Currently married – maybe for a while – but a Parent is still your beneficiary (Easy fix, frequent occurrence)
  • Minor child is the beneficiary – this will not work- courts will end up deciding
  • Ex Spouse – yikes -there are some relief with divorce decrees, but sloppy
  • Sibling that for whatever reason you no longer desire to be a beneficiary
  • Two of your three grown children – by accident, forgetting the third

Don’t let an accidental oversight in your Beneficiary designation slip through the cracks – Review occasionally, and you will be in good shape!

Have a Great “NOT forgotten Beneficiary” Day!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.
A Dallas Texas based fee only
Financial Planning Total Wealth
Management firm.
jkfinancialinc
street-cents

June 2015 Financial Planning Tip, Capital Market Review (Video)

Welcome to our monthly Economic, Capital Market, and Financial Planning tip of the month.

This months Financial Planning Tip of the month is a reminder of another important account Title issue !

Once again a special thanks to all of  YOU … the best clients and friends as your experiences have again given us the subject matter for our Financial Planning Tip of the Month.

For those new to our writings, we touch on the most pertinent Financial “stuff” along with a video of my mug that has even more specialized details of the latest month as well as this post.

Ok…let’s go!

VIDEO

You Tube Direct Link  or   Vimeo Direct Link

 

TOD/POD Transfer/Payable on death – Another great Financial Planning Tip: 

  • Automatically sends assets to recipient upon death of other
  • Avoids probate
  • Since Avoids probate, may not be controlled by your Will
  • Very Powerful
  • Can lead to inadvertent mistakes in Estate Planning

While similar to our recent tip concerning Joint Tenants with Rights of Survivorship (JTWROS), we find this tip is actually forgotten about rather than accidentally used. Never by us … Give us a call if you have any confusion/questions!

China, Greece, Puerto Rico and Summer

With slowing earnings growth here in the USA and frothy capital markets, it did not take much to put fear into participants. Combine the trifecta (China, Greece, Puerto Rico) of events and summer doldrums and you get a dicey market.

China:

Shanghai Composite

That’s a pretty scary 20%+ negative move by the China market … Until you take a longer view.

Shanghai Composite LT

With eyes of a wider spectrum, looks like to us a much needed breather. No matter, the weight of all at once, Greece, China and Puerto Rico have been too great for markets to maintain a positive attitude, thus far.

Watching close!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFPJK Street Cents Logo

http://www.jkfinancialinc.com
http://www.street-cents.com
8222 Douglas Ave # 590
Dallas, TX 75225

More Important Title Techniques: Transfer or Payable on Death (The TOD & POD)

Depending on the situation, it may be desirable to automatically direct an assets destination upon death. There are several techniques available to direct assets in the event of the owner’s death.

Transfer or Payable on Death (TOD & POD)

Here are the highlights of using this terminology:LivingTrustEstatePic

  • Avoids Probate
  • Fast acting, death certificate is generally only document needed
  • Easy to set up (Usually just a simple form that adds titling)
  • Does not change the original title of the account

Depending on the asset (stock, house or other) there may be certain restrictions in your state. More here too from 2012!

Estate planning requires coordination and forethought from every angle … yell if you have ANY questions!

Have a Great Day!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

http://www.jkfinancialinc.com
http://www.street-cents.com
8222 Douglas Ave # 590
Dallas, TX 75225
JK Street Cents Logo

TOD (Transfer on Death) Handy, Helpful, but not the Holy Grail

Recently we have been receiving questions concerning TOD (Transfer on Death) account titling at a higher than usual rate. Our suspicion is opportunistic fiscal cliffer’s may be accidentally inaccurately describing this tool.  Never afraid to simplify and clarify an idea, you know us…we will take the bull by the horns, so here goes a quick review of the TOD Title.

A TOD title is used to add a beneficiary to after tax/non IRA assets that would not otherwise have such a directive. If easier you can think of adding a TOD to an investment account as a similar outcome of the beneficiary designation that your IRA has. A TOD directs ownership of the account immediately to said beneficiary upon presentation of a death certificate for the original account owner. Sounds easy and simple, but here are a few items to review before you step into such titling.

  1. There are no special tax savings by utilizing this title (Our fiscal cliff accidental communicator possibilities)
  2. Overrides your Will directives (When you title a TOD, the Will no longer controls the account)
  3. Death Certificate is necessary to process (This may take longer than probate in some scenarios)
  4. May strangle the executor from expense cash (If everything in an Estate has a directive/beneficiary, there may be no funds remaining in the Estate to pay short-term ongoing expenses)
  5. Not all (but most) states allow TOD (Be sure to check your state laws before utilizing a TOD title)

We hope this will help with the contagious confusion running somewhat rampant out there currently.  Feel free to forward this to someone who may find it of interest.

Have a great day !

JK

214-706-4300
http://www.jkfinancialinc.com
8222 Douglas Ave # 590
Dallas, TX 75225