THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, OCTObEr 16, 2026 Page 19 Updating Your Beneficiary Designations T Shown from left to right: Danielle Zaccaria, State Rep. Jessica Giannino, Natalia Zaccaria, Mikey Zaccaria & Michael Zaccaria and State. Rep. Donald Wong. (Courtesy photo, Jessica Giannino) he importance of initially establishing proper beneficiary designations (and then periodically updating them) with respect to retirement plans, IRA accounts, life insurance policies, annuity policies, etc., cannot be overemphasized. If you have an IRA account Shown from left to right: Jennifer Duby and Christian, Alex, Cooper and Caroline Drella. SUPPORT | FROM PAGE 17 State Representative Donald Wong said everyone is here who should be here. “He was a great guy and will be missed dearly,” Wong said. State Representative Jessica Giannino said Badges for a Cure is always such a wonderful event, and the Saugus police and fire unions do a phenomenal job each year bringing people together in support of first responders and their families. “This year was especially meaningful as we gathered in memory of Lt. Drella and honored his courageous battle with occupational cancer,” Giannino said. “I am incredibly grateful to everyone that you established prior to getting married and you never get around to changing the beneficiary designations after you get married, if you subsequently die, your spouse will receive nothing. The original primary beneficiary will take all. If the primary beneficiary dies prior to you, the contingent beneficiary will take all. A life changing event such as a marriage or a divorce should prompt you to review all of your beneficiary designations. If you have an ERISA comThe Eric Grant Band performed. who works so hard to make this event possible year after year.” Representatives Wong and Giannino share a deep commitment to supporting police officers, firefighters and their families, and she is always grateful for the opportunity to work alongside him on behalf of the first responders who serve the communities. pliant retirement plan at work, however, most likely your spouse will be the primary beneficiary of the retirement plan even if you don’t get around to updating the beneficiary designation by naming your spouse as the primary beneficiary. With an ERISA compliant retirement plan, a spouse must consent in writing for you to name someone else as the primary beneficiary. Beneficiary designation mishaps are more common than one might think. In fact, they occur quite frequently. In many cases, there are no named beneficiaries and the IRA/ retirement plan proceeds or life insurance proceeds end up being paid to the estate of the deceased person passing to the heirs at law based upon the Massachusetts intestacy statute, assuming there was no valid Last Will and Testament. The ultimate takers may include individuals that the deceased would never have wished to leave anything to. The lesson to be learned here is to give careful thought to your initial beneficiary designation form when completing it and remember to revisit the form every few years or so in order to update it if necessary based upon a change in marital status, family members or any other circumstances that would warrant making a change. You can select a primary beneficiary and a secondary beneficiary. You can also attach an exhibit to the form to be more detailed about who gets what upon your death. For example, you can leave a life insurance policy death benefit to your three children with instructions to pay the children of a deceased child (i.e. your grandchildren) in equal shares. We often refer to this as “by right of representation” or “per stirpes”. Most of the time, people completing beneficiary forms will choose a primary beneficiary and a contingent beneficiary. People don’t realize that you can actually attach a supplemental schedule to the pre-printed form that allows you to tailor your beneficiary designation selection to your own estate planning objectives. You do not necessarily have to restrict yourself to the “four corners” of the pre-printed form. Joseph D. Cataldo is an estate planning/elder law attorney, Certified Public Accountant, Certified Financial Planner, AICPA Personal Financial Specialist and holds a masters degree in taxation.
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