NBUW's Spirit of Caring Awards Being Held in Person

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Northern Berkshire United Way is hosting the 4th annual Spirit of Caring Awards on Thursday, June 9, from 5 to 7 p.m. at 3 West Events in the Norad Mill. 

This will be the first time since 2019 that the event will be held in person. This event honors individuals for their service to Northern Berkshire United Way, its network and the overall Northern Berkshire Community.

Adams Community Bank is a platinum sponsor of the event and Greylock Federal Credit Union is the gold sponsor.  Silver sponsors are George Apkin & Sons, Specialty Minerals, Moresi & Associates and Wal-Mart.

Amy Giroux will be presented with the Al Nelson Spirit of Caring Award, named after the former Northern Berkshire United Way executive director. Giroux is a longtime volunteer in the community and a former board president of Northern Berkshire United Way. During her many years of work in the community, she has been an advocate for creating learning and recreational opportunities for children of all ages.

Stacy Parsons will be presented the Spirit of the Future Award. Stacy works out of North Adams Public Schools as the North Berkshire School Housing Partnership coordinator and state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education McKinney-Vento regional liaison. Her work focuses on supporting schools and community organizations in meeting the educational stability needs of highly mobile students. Parson works tirelessly on behalf of the community and served as the volunteer coordinator at the COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic in North Adams during the pandemic.

Alex Daugherty will be presented the Spirit of the Community Award. Daugherty is a longtime adult probation officer through Northern Berkshire District Court who has given back to his community in so many ways through his volunteer service. At the core of his volunteerism is youth development and support for individuals who have overcome challenges and are trying to make a fresh start

Adams Community Bank will be recognized as NBUW's Campaign of the Year for the generous employee and corporate support.

NBUW supports 19 member agencies that provide health, education and financial stability programs in our service area.  We are committed to providing funding in the area of safety-net services.

For more information, email Patti Messina at pmessina@nbunitedway.org or call the office at 413-663-9062. Tickets can be purchased here.  


Tags: NBUW,   recognition event,   

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Be careful when naming beneficiaries

You might not have thought much about beneficiary designations — but they can play a big role in your estate planning.
 
When you purchase insurance policies and open investment accounts, such as your IRA, you'll be asked to name a beneficiary, and, in some cases, more than one. This might seem easy, especially if you have a spouse and children, but if you experience a major life event, such as a divorce or a death in the family, you may need to make some changes — because beneficiary designations carry a lot of weight under the law.
 
In fact, these designations can supersede the instructions you may have written in your will or living trust, so everyone in your family should know who is expected to get which assets. One significant benefit of having proper beneficiary designations in place is that they may enable beneficiaries to avoid the time-consuming — and possibly expensive — probate process.
 
The beneficiary issue can become complex because not everyone reacts the same way to events such as divorce — some people want their ex-spouses to still receive assets while others don't. Furthermore, not all the states have the same rules about how beneficiary designations are treated after a divorce. And some financial assets are treated differently than others.
 
Here's the big picture: If you've named your spouse as a beneficiary of an IRA, bank or brokerage account, insurance policy, will or trust, this beneficiary designation will automatically be revoked upon divorce in about half the states. So, if you still want your ex-spouse to get these assets, you will need to name them as a non-spouse beneficiary after the divorce. But if you've named your spouse as beneficiary for a 401(k) plan or pension, the designation will remain intact until and unless you change it, regardless of where you live.
 
However, in community property states, couples are generally required to split equally all assets they acquired during their marriage. When couples divorce, the community property laws require they split their assets 50/50, but only those assets they obtained while they lived in that state. If you were to stay in the same community property state throughout your marriage and divorce, the ownership issue is generally straightforward, but if you were to move to or from one of these states, it might change the joint ownership picture.
 
Thus far, we've only talked about beneficiary designation issues surrounding divorce. But if an ex-spouse — or any beneficiary — passes away, the assets will generally pass to a contingent beneficiary — which is why it's important that you name one at the same time you designate the primary beneficiary. Also, it may be appropriate to name a special needs trust as beneficiary for a family member who has special needs or becomes disabled. If this individual were to be the direct beneficiary, any assets passing directly into their hands could affect their eligibility for certain programs.
 
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