Keep your accounts and your estate plan saying the same thing

Many accounts pass according to the beneficiary or transfer-on-death instructions on file with the institution. FINRA notes that a transfer-on-death plan or other beneficiary document on a brokerage account supersedes your will, and suggests asking your firm who is recorded as beneficiary on each account.

How an account is titled matters too: individual, joint, and trust-owned accounts can behave differently. The planning question is simple to ask and easy to overlook: does each account's title and beneficiary match what your attorney's documents intend?

A current inventory lets the people you rely on find what exists without guessing. It usually lists each investment, retirement, and bank account; the institution; how it is titled; the beneficiaries on file; insurance policies and annuities; and who to call, including your attorney and tax preparer.

FINRA also suggests keeping statements and account information in a safe, logical place and talking openly with family about holdings and beneficiaries, so an executor can locate firm contact information quickly.

A trusted contact is someone your brokerage firm may reach in limited situations, such as when it cannot reach you or suspects possible financial exploitation. According to the SEC, FINRA, and NASAA investor bulletin, naming a trusted contact does not give that person authority to act on your behalf or make transactions.

A power of attorney is a legal document that does give an agent authority. FINRA's advance-planning guide notes that requirements vary by state and recommends consulting an attorney. The two serve different purposes, and many people consider both.

Your attorney prepares and explains the documents. The planning side checks that the accounts line up with them: beneficiary forms, account titles, transfers into a trust if your attorney recommends one, and how gifts or family support affect your own spending plan.

Bringing both views together can surface gaps, such as an account opened after the documents were signed or a beneficiary form that was never updated. Those findings go back to your attorney to decide what, if anything, should change.

FINRA encourages reviewing your instructions regularly and after major life events such as marriage, divorce, and the birth of children. In retirement, the death of a spouse, remarriage, an inheritance, a move to another state, or a new need for care often call for the same review.

These moments rarely affect one area only. The death of a spouse, for example, can change income, taxes, account titles, and beneficiaries at the same time, which is why the five planning areas are reviewed together rather than one at a time.