Larry Weiss from  nerdwallet  has enlightened readers on the common, but costly mistakes when it comes to your will and living trust.

You’ve worked hard throughout your lifetime to provide for your family, save for retirement, and leave a legacy for your children and grandchildren. Now, you’re older and it’s time to put your estate in order.

The first step is to set up a will and living trust to ensure your assets will benefit your loved ones, so they won’t have the grueling process of probate.

Not so fast… Did you check the beneficiaries of your accounts?

Many assets have their own beneficiary designations:

Most people don’t check these… mistakenly thinking their will or living trust controls their distribution.

Under the law, assets like IRAs are not subject to probate. They pass using the beneficiary designation and aren’t controlled by a will. The ONLY time a will controls a non-probate asset is if there’s no designated or beneficiary is the estate.

Tidbit: The Supreme Court has ruled that your beneficiary designations on:

How can we ensure this doesn’t happen? UPDATE of beneficiaries should be included in your financial planning checklist:

You worked hard. Keep your hard work up to date so you can leave a legacy for your family. To learn more about avoiding costly mistakes that could hurt your assets contact David Veliz at Veliz Katz Law. Read the full article by Larry Weiss, CFP & CPA at  nerdwallet.