Closing the gaps in beneficiary designations on file
Designations live at the provider, not in the plan document and not in the meeting note. One account still names a former spouse. One defaults to an estate because the form came back with the line blank. A contingent tier is empty. Per stirpes was ticked on one form and left alone on the sibling account opened two years later. None of this surfaces until somebody dies. The work is pulling what each custodian actually holds on file, comparing it to the intent recorded at the last review, then chasing forms until the list empties.
The account application comes back not in good order because of a missing initial, and the whole signature cycle runs again.
The custodian holds the assets and is the record. The advisory firm runs a relationship system alongside it, plus a portfolio and reporting system, plus a planning tool, and the same client identity is entered into each because there is no shared key between them.
- Wealthbox
- DocuSign
- Redtail
When this is the wrong thing to build
Pick something else if the practice is small enough that one annual pass through the custodian portal catches everything, or if most accounts are taxable joint registrations where the designation question barely comes up at all.
The constraint that shapes it
Books and records rules require preservation of communications relating to advice and recommendations, and to the movement of funds, in an accessible place, for a defined period with the earliest portion held locally. More on how this sector works.
A list of things that are missing, worked until it is empty. Read what this shape is, or start from one of these.
- Chasing a compliance file to complete
- Chasing a referral fee through to a closing you cannot see
- Asking for the replenishment before the retainer runs to zero
- Chasing medical records until the set is complete
- Getting a deposition on the calendar of every party
- Chasing the warranty credit the distributor has not issued
- How do I find accounts with no beneficiary designation on file?
- What happens when a beneficiary form comes back with a blank contingent?
- Does per stirpes carry across every account at the same custodian?
- How do I check beneficiary designations against the estate documents?
- How often should beneficiary designations be reviewed with a client?
Back to wealth management, or see how this is priced and scoped.