Your "If Something Happens" File

The story: Ana’s five-minute form

Ana fills in a beneficiary form at work while Marcus explains why a few documents help family when something goes wrong.

1. Narrator: Ana started a new job. The benefits site asks who the beneficiary is for the 401(k) and the work life insurance.
2. Ana: I’m 24. Do I really need to fill this out?
3. Marcus: When my cousin was in the hospital after a crash, nobody in the family could talk to the doctors or find the bills.
4. Narrator: A health care proxy and a HIPAA authorization let someone you trust talk to doctors and make choices if you can’t.
5. Narrator: A beneficiary form says who gets an account if you die. It beats a will, and it takes about five minutes.
6. Ana: And a list of my accounts, so someone knows where to look. With no passwords in it.
7. Narrator: Beneficiary forms take five minutes and matter for decades.

What you’ll learn

1. Beneficiary forms come first

   A beneficiary form names who gets a retirement account, life insurance or bank account if you die. It overrides a will, so it’s worth checking after big life changes like marriage, divorce or a new child.

2. Payable on death

   A bank account can be set to payable on death (POD). The person named can claim the money directly, without waiting on a court. Setting it up is usually a short form at the bank or in its app.

3. Someone to speak for you

   A health care proxy names who makes medical choices if you can’t. A HIPAA authorization lets doctors share information with that person. A power of attorney covers money matters. Forms and rules vary by state (see the card).

4. The list, not the passwords

   A simple list of your accounts and where documents are kept saves people weeks of searching. Passwords never go in plain text. A password manager’s emergency access and the digital legacy settings on email and phone accounts handle that.

Key words

payable on death (POD)

a bank account setting that names who can claim the money directly

health care proxy

a form naming who makes medical choices if you can’t

power of attorney

a form letting someone you trust handle money matters for you

digital legacy

settings that let a trusted person reach your online accounts later

Common questions

Do I need a lawyer for this?

Not for most of it. Beneficiary and POD forms come from the bank or plan. Many states offer free health care proxy forms. A lawyer helps when things are more complex.

How do people pick who to name?

Here’s how people decide: someone they trust, who would handle things calmly, and a backup in case the first person can’t.

Remember this

Beneficiary forms take five minutes and matter for decades.

Try it: Start your file

1. Print the list from this lesson’s game.
2. Check the beneficiaries on your 401(k), IRA and any work life insurance.
3. List your accounts, with no passwords, using the Net Worth Calculator or paper.

The printable file checklist, plus the Net Worth Calculator to list your accounts.

Live facts

Numbers that change over time, with when they were last checked and where they come from.

• Health care proxy and advance directive forms

  Source: National Institute on Aging (NIH)(opens in a new tab)

• Powers of attorney and managing someone else’s money

  Source: ConsumerFinance.gov(opens in a new tab)