Update your instructions

Its surprising how easy it is for the years to pass by and before you know it, your well thought out plans for what should happen to your assets on your passing can seem hopelessly out of date.

Nowhere is  this more likely then in regards to your superannuation savings and in particularly your decisions about nominating beneficiaries to receive your superannuation entitlements.

So lets start at the beginning. For everyone with a superannuation account and these days that is almost every Australian, it is important to check and if needed update your beneficiary nominations.

Beneficiaries are usually nominated when the super account is set up but often this decision is made quickly with little thought of its consequences. So in establishing your super, you can nominate a person, usually a family member or financial dependent, to receive your superannuation balance on your passing.

There are several benefits in doing this. Firstly, it means the funds should by-pass your estate and flow directly to that individual or individuals. These instructions can't be contested in the way a will can and typically the funds will flow very quickly to the recipient.

It simply requires your solicitor, or the person looking after your estate, to provide the super fund with a copy of your death certificate and the account will be liquidated and the cash dispersed within weeks according to your instructions.

This is very different to your estate where it might takes months for probate to be processed and for assets to be sold and so for funds to be physically passed to beneficiaries.

It is also possible to nominate several people to receive funds from your super account and to allocate each individual a clear percentage of your savings. Again, it is simple and clear cut.

This mechanism can be particularly useful for anyone with a blended family or has a specific person that they want to provide for and which might be disputed by other beneficiaries to your estate if they are included in your will.

It might also be, that with time, your thoughts might change as to who you want to leave money to. For example, you might be happy for your home to be sold and distributed evenly between your children but perhaps there is now one or all your grandchildren that you would like to leave a specific amount of money to from your superannuation.

As always with estate planning, I think the simpler your instructions are the better and the more likely it is that they will be carried out in line with your intentions, so always keep that in mind

Perhaps more importantly make sure that you take the time to regularly review your instructions, particularly in regards to your superannuation, and ensure they keep pace with changes in your family and personal relationships.