What Happens to An Annuity When You Die? Where There's a Will There's a Delay

What Happens to an Annuity When You Die? 

"An annuity is a financial instrument that accrues interest on a tax-deferred basis and protects against market risk ad longevity risk. Because annuities offer many benefits, lottery winners, retirees and structured settlement recipients use them to create predictable cash flow for the present, future and even after their death"  After the death of an annuity owner, annuities can be left to a beneficiary selected by the owner.  So far so good.

But like the cartoon character, the author Elaine Silvestrini,  Annuity.org's "Sylvester" never catches the "Tweety Bird". Elaine claims that "This means an annuity held by a parent, spouse or another loved one can be willed to a person named as a beneficiary.

Why will an annuity when you can just name a beneficiary (or contingent payee) and bypass probate?  Why have it pass through a probate estate, where it could be tagged with fees and expenses? 

The Annuity.org writer cited 8 sources for her incorrect statement and it was supposedly fact checked and financially reviewed by a Certified Financial Planner. 

Annuity.org has proven over and over again that it is not a credible source of information about structured settlements or annuities that you can count on consistently. Its staff writers get the basics wrong time and time again. It's obvious that management simply doesn't care about accuracy. It's a shame really. I've been following their shenanigans for 4 years and they are often a hazard to financial literacy. 

via GIPHY   

There's an answer if you know where to look "Sylvester"