Most people understand the importance of writing a will and buying enough life insurance to protect family from serious financial hardship upon their death. But one of the most overlooked aspects of financial planning is naming the beneficiaries for ones overall assets and investments, and keeping that list current.

Recently we worked with a client who had named her husband as primary beneficiary on her IRA many years ago, but failed to update the account, even after he was admitted to a nursing home. Had we not recommended that she change the beneficiary to list her children, this would not have been on her radar