Life insurance policies are available and when when planning your estate, consider if you have enough life cover and have provided for your old age. Make sure that your spouse and children will be able to comfortably continue with their lives after your death. Make sure that you have nominated the persons who are to receive the benefits from your retirement funds and insurance policies. Phone your life insurance companies or retirement fund and ask them for a detailed list of your investments or policies, as well as the details of all beneficiaries. Review your chosen beneficiaries regularly, as your circumstances may change.
Your life insurance policies will not always be inherited according to your will. For example: if you have taken out a life insurance cover policy with your ex-spouse as beneficiary (because you were still married at the time), and you do not change the beneficiary with the insurance company, your ex-spouse will get the money from that policy if you die. You cannot change this in your will.
If you want to change a beneficiary to a policy or a retirement fund, you must follow the procedure prescribed by the insurance company or fund. If you have to fill in any forms or documents to have the nomination changed, always ask for a copy for your own records. Make very sure that the nomination has been changed according to your request – ask the insurance company to confirm this in writing, and file their letter with your life insurance policies documents and other important papers.