How to check and update your beneficiaries
Check your beneficiaries by logging in to every retirement account, life insurance policy and bank or investment account that allows one, and reading who is named as primary and contingent beneficiary. These forms usually decide who receives the money even if your will says something different. Update them after marriage, divorce, a birth or a death, and keep a copy of each confirmation.
Why it matters: Beneficiary forms usually override a will, and old ones often name an ex.
Steps
- List every account that can name a beneficiary: workplace retirement plans, individual retirement accounts, life insurance and bank or brokerage accounts with a transfer or payable on death option.
- Log in or call each one and read the primary and contingent beneficiaries.
- Update any that are out of date, such as a former spouse or someone who has died.
- Name a contingent beneficiary on each, in case the first cannot inherit.
- Save or print each confirmation and add it to your document vault.
- Review after every major life change and once a year.
- Ask an estate lawyer before naming a minor or someone who receives benefits.
Stop and call a professional if
- you want to name a minor, a trust, or someone who receives disability benefits: ask an estate planning lawyer first
- you are divorcing: ask your lawyer when you may change beneficiaries, since court orders can restrict changes during the case
Questions to ask the professional
- Do my beneficiary forms match what my will says?
- Should any of these name a trust instead of a person?
Common mistakes
- Assuming a new will changes who gets your retirement account.
- Leaving a former spouse named after a divorce.
- Naming no contingent beneficiary.
Outside the US or in another state: Rules for wills, proxies, beneficiaries, name changes and divorce are set by each US state; outside the US they differ again, so check with a local lawyer or official service.
Teach this to someone
A one page sheet for showing a friend, a teenager or a parent: what to say, what to show, and one question to check it landed.
Teach: How to check and update your beneficiaries
What to say
Check your beneficiaries by logging in to every retirement account, life insurance policy and bank or investment account that allows one, and reading who is named as primary and contingent beneficiary. These forms usually decide who receives the money even if your will says something different. Update them after marriage, divorce, a birth or a death, and keep a copy of each confirmation.
What to show
- List every account that can name a beneficiary: workplace retirement plans, individual retirement accounts, life insurance and bank or brokerage accounts with a transfer or payable on death option.
- Log in or call each one and read the primary and contingent beneficiaries.
- Update any that are out of date, such as a former spouse or someone who has died.
- Name a contingent beneficiary on each, in case the first cannot inherit.
- Save or print each confirmation and add it to your document vault.
- Review after every major life change and once a year.
- Ask an estate lawyer before naming a minor or someone who receives benefits.
Where it stops
Stop and call a professional if you want to name a minor, a trust, or someone who receives disability benefits: ask an estate planning lawyer first.
Check question
Which usually decides who inherits a retirement account?
Answer: The beneficiary form. Beneficiary designations generally pass outside the will.
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Related skills
Sources
- US state bar association consumer guides on wills and estate planning, 2026. Reviewed September 28, 2026.
Written in our own words from the sources above. It is general information, not advice for your situation; where a professional, your doctor or your lease says something different, follow them.
Last reviewed . First published .