Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Texas

Re: Last wills /beneficiaries

Life insurance policies pass by contract, and not by will. You'd have to change the beneficiaries. Same thing with other accounts that are styled joint accounts with right of survivorship; the names on the accounts are what count, and not the will.

Re: Last wills /beneficiaries

Life insurance policies are typically contracts which are normally 'outside the will' Unless you have designated your estate as the beneficiary, your policy will go to whomever you have designated therein. Therefore, you should check your policy, in order to make sure it complies with your final wishes.

Re: Last wills /beneficiaries

Your will governs only what property you own at your death (your estate). Your life insurance policy is usually not governed by your will, (unless you named your estate as the beneficiary). Since insurance money usually passes by contract to a named individual, you most likely need to contact the life insurance company and change the beneficiary yourself, because the will does not change the contract. Likewise, with any account or title listed "with right of survivorship" (including car titles), that property changes ownership immediately at death to the joint owner, and is not part of the estate that the will controls. Therefore, while joint ownership "with right of survivorship" can be very convenient, you must also be very careful to keep the proper current beneficiary named on the account and realize that your will has no effect on those accounts.