Xerox sent him beneficiary designation forms asking him to confirm his selection of his son as beneficiary, but he did not sign and return the forms. The appellate court noted that the plan documents ...

NEW YORK -- It doesn't matter how perfectly you drafted that will. Your retirement assets may never reach your heirs if you failed to fill out the beneficiary-designation form. Remember that form ...

Outside of death, beneficiary provisions and designations under qualified plans (see ERISA Section 3(8)) tend to receive little attention.Unfortunately, death may spotlight or uncover less ...

A thorny Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) dispute bouncing around the federal courts, known as Becker v.Mays-Williams, highlights the importance of precision in retirement plan ...

In advising a client about beneficiary designations, it is important to determine if he or she has a will or trust instruments and whether these documents were created with some cohesive design.

In Becker v. Mays-Williams, 13-35069-cv, 2015 WL 348872 (9th Cir. Jan 28, 2015), the Ninth Circuit – in a matter of first impression – concluded that beneficiary designation forms were not ...

Sometimes conflicting beneficiary designations for 401(k) plan assets can be tough to sort out when a plan participant dies. It took a verdict from the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 9 th ...

Three days later, on May 30, 2017, MetLife rejected the beneficiary designation form, stating that Charles' power of attorney did not authorize Charles to change Ray's beneficiaries.

The law reads in part: "Upon the entry of a decree of annulment or divorce from the bond of matrimony on and after July 1, 1993, any revocable beneficiary designation contained in a then-existing ...

workers have stashed $6.9 trillion in their 401(k) plans as of Sept. 30, 2023, according to the Investment Company Institute, an association representing regulated investment funds.

The beneficiary of these accounts is determined by the beneficiary designation form on file with the plan, not your will or trust. Often these forms haven’t been reviewed in 10 years or more.

IRA beneficiary designations are a confusing topic to many clients and even to some advisors, but mastering the details of IRA beneficiary rules can strengthen relationships with clients, reduce ...