Beneficiary Designation

The instruction naming who receives a life insurance or annuity death benefit, controlling payment outside probate.

Overview

Primary beneficiaries come first, contingent beneficiaries receive only if no primary survives, and per stirpes wording passes a deceased child share to that child descendants. Revocable designations can be changed anytime, irrevocable ones need beneficiary consent. Life events do not update designations automatically, and state rules on divorced spouses vary by plan type, so review after marriage, divorce, or birth matters. Minors cannot receive funds directly, so custodians, trusts, or court supervised arrangements are used. Keeping records and telling beneficiaries where policies live prevents unclaimed benefits, of which US states hold billions of dollars in forgotten policies.