Here's why, if you haven't updated your beneficiaries since you opened your accounts, it's worth checking in ASAP. When it comes to investing accounts, such as 401(k)s and IRAs, financial pros will generally tell you, the less you look at them, the better. In the event of your death, your brokerage or plan administrator distributes your assets to whomever you have designated as your beneficiary. This process generally only takes a couple of minutes, and you likely breezed through it when you opened your accounts. In the case of Fidelity, for instance, "beneficiaries must contact Fidelity themselves to receive their assets," company policy reads.

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Persons: Ed Slott, Jeffrey Rolison, Margret Losinger, Sjostedt, Slott, Rolison Organizations: Social, Procter, Gamble, Fidelity, CNBC