3 Beneficiary Form Mistakes That Can Sabotage Your Estate Plan
3 Beneficiary Form Mistakes That Can Sabotage Your Estate Plan By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi September 4, 2026 It's early September -- trees begin to show their colors, kids are back in school, and football is back on TV. It is also Life Insurance Awareness Month. From my vantage point as an estate planning and probate attorney I see this as an ideal opportunity to revisit one of the most powerful, yet often misunderstood, tools in personal finance -- the beneficiary form for life insurance. When people think about estate planning, they usually picture formal documents: a will, a Revocable Living Trust, or Powers of Attorney. But for many individuals and families, a significant portion of their wealth does not pass through a will at all. It passes directly through beneficiary designations on assets, life insurance in particular. Because life insurance proceeds pass by contract directly to whoever is named on that single piece of paper (known as a beneficiary form)...