There are numerous reports available in Wealthscape that can help manage operational aspects of your practice. This week, we will highlight the “Account Beneficiary Report” and how it could be used to assist in avoiding a Beneficiary Headache!
Over the summer (which seems like a really, really long time ago), I worked with an Administrative Assistant to resolve a terribly problematic beneficiary issue. The owner of a sizable account passed away with a trust designated as a beneficiary on her Individual Transfer on Death (TOD) Account. Unfortunately the beneficiary information had not been reviewed with the client, and it was determined that the Trust listed as beneficiary was invalid and was not consistent with the client’s estate-planning wishes. It was later determined that this Trust never existed and had been set up in error by the client and her attorney nearly 10 years ago.
Due to the incorrect Beneficiary Designation, the client’s Estate had to petition the court for guidance on how this asset was to be treated. The process was extremely cumbersome and caused substantial delays in reallocating this asset within an investment strategy proposed by the current advisors.
The “Account Beneficiary Report”, available in Wealthscape Reporting, can be used to mitigate these unforeseen “headaches”. The report can be generated to quickly review current beneficiary elections ahead of a periodic review or client phone call. Additionally, accounts with a Beneficiary Status of “in transit, invalid, or rejected” are considered NIGO and most likely would prohibit assets from being moved to those beneficiaries as the client may have wished. Accounts with this status may require resubmission of a Beneficiary form.
Accounts with a Beneficiary Status of “N/A” do not current contain a designation. A phone call to a client to discuss the lack of a beneficiary record on their accounts may be a good conversation-starter to identify potential sales opportunities.
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– Abram Nunes, Director of Brokerage Operations
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