5 Beneficiary Designation Mistakes That Can Wreck Your Estate Plan

You spent thousands on an estate plan. You signed the will. You funded the trust. And none of it may matter because a beneficiary form you filled out 15 years ago when you started a new job could override everything.

Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and payable-on-death bank accounts are legally binding contracts. They operate entirely outside your will and trust. When these forms are outdated, incomplete, or misaligned with the rest of your plan, the result can be assets going to an ex-spouse, a child being accidentally disinherited, or a six-figure tax bill no one saw coming.

According to Caring.com’s 2025 estate planning survey, only 24% of American adults have a will — down from 33% in 2022. But even among the minority who do plan, beneficiary designation errors remain one of the most common and costly oversights. Here are five mistakes you need to avoid.