Start with a list

Write down all your assets, including real estate, financial accounts, personal property, insurance policies and digital assets. You can also include any debts, such as a home or car loan, or credit cards. Here are some examples:

• House
• Bank or investment account
• Retirement account
• Car
• Art, jewelry or collectibles
• Life insurance policies
• Social media accounts
• Digital photos

You’ll collect all the details, such as account numbers and passwords, and list them in a separate document, such as a letter of instruction. This helps keep information private as wills can become public documents. It will also keep you from having to update your will if account numbers or passwords change.

Consider life and AD&D insurance

Life insurance pays a cash benefit to a beneficiary if the insured person dies. Accidental death and dismemberment insurance pays an additional amount for certain covered accidents.

• Basic life and AD&D insurance is provided to all eligible employees and their enrolled family members at no cost.
• Supplemental life and AD&D insurance is available for you to purchase if you’d like more than the basic life insurance provided. Learn more about how much and when you can purchase this coverage at Costcobenefits.com > Financial Wellbeing > Life & Disability.

Choose beneficiaries

A beneficiary is who you choose to get your money and things when you die. It can be a person (or multiple people), the trustee of a trust you’ve set up, a charity or nonprofit organization, a minor (under 18 years of age) or your estate (in the case of a life insurance policy). 

Why it’s important

• Clarity: When you name beneficiaries, it’s clear who gets what. This helps avoid arguments and hurt feelings among your family.
• Speed: Naming beneficiaries ensures that claims for benefits such as life insurance get processed and paid timely. Without a beneficiary listed, there can be delays in determining who should receive the benefits.
• Control: You decide who gets your money and things. If you don’t name a beneficiary, the state decides, and it might not be what you want. 

How to choose  

Think about the people who depend on you:

• Who needs your financial help? Make sure they’re included.
• If you have children under 18, who will manage their money? You can name a trustee to handle this.
• Do you want to set conditions? For example, you might want your children to get money only after they graduate from college.

Please note, in order to name someone other than your spouse as your beneficiary on your retirement account, you’ll need to contact T. Rowe Price for assistance.

Make a will

A will makes sure your house, cars, money and assets go to the right people.

You may also want to consider a trust. Here are some of the benefits:

• Set the rules — You decide how or when your beneficiaries receive their inheritance. This can be useful for kids or those who need help managing money.
• Avoid probate — Your trust distributes your assets. That means no court supervision and a faster, more private process.
• Estate planning — You can include real estate, bank accounts and investments to be managed the way you decide. 

Other legal documents to think about:

• Durable powers of attorney — Lets someone make financial, legal and benefit decisions for you if you can’t.
• Health care directive — Lets someone make health care decisions for you if you can’t.

Through Resources for Living^®(RFL), you have access to the Free Legal Resource Center. Use online tools to create free legal forms, such as wills, trusts and powers of attorney. To get started, visit RFL.com/Costco > Life & Relationships > Legal services > Legal forms and documents.

You can also learn more about a variety of legal topics in the Resource Library. Or take advantage of a free 30-minute consultation with a lawyer to answer any questions you may have about wills, trusts or other legal concerns. Call RFL at 833-721-2320 (TTY: 711) to request your free consultation.

Update your documents

Make sure your life insurance, retirement accounts and other documents have the right beneficiaries. You can update your beneficiaries at any time here:

• Life insurance: Costcobenefits.com
• Retirement plan: RPS.TRowePrice.com