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The original was posted on /r/lifeprotips by /u/worldsnextbestboss on 2024-10-17 13:35:43+00:00.

Most life insurance, retirement accounts, and other financial accounts allow you to add one or more “beneficiaries” to your account—someone who automatically gets the money if you die. This is important because it allows your kids, spouse, or whoever else you want to get access to the money immediately, without having to wait to see what’s in a will or fight it out in court. And you don’t need a will or a lawyer or a notary; for most accounts, it’s probably something you can do online with a few clicks in a few minutes. But after you do it, it’s also important to check your beneficiaries periodically; beneficiary designations usually trump instructions in a will or other legal rules about inheritance. So, for example, if you name your spouse as a beneficiary on your retirement account and then end up getting divorced and remarried—but forget to update your beneficiary—spouse #2 could be in for a unhappy surprise if you die.