When an estate is named beneficiary to a life insurance policy the policy proceeds are quizlet?

A beneficiary is the person or entity you name (i.e., designate) to receive the death benefits of a life insurance policy. Some states require that your beneficiary have an insurable interest in your life or be related to you (at least at the time the contract is initiated), while others have no such restriction.

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Who Inherits Property When a Single Person With No Children Dies Without a Will in Texas?
Who Inherits When a Single Person with Children Dies Without a Will?
Who Inherits When A Married Person Dies Without a Will in Texas?
Community Property
Separate Property

If you do not want to name an individual or entity as your beneficiary, you can name your own estate. The proceeds will then be distributed with your other assets according to your will. You should note, however, that naming your estate as beneficiary may have disadvantages. For example, in many states, life insurance proceeds are exempt from the claims of your creditors when there is a named beneficiary, but not when your estate is your named beneficiary.

Revocable and Irrevocable Beneficiaries

The beneficiary can be either revocable or irrevocable. A revocable beneficiary can be changed at any time. Once named, an irrevocable beneficiary cannot be changed without his or her consent.

Primary and Contingent Beneficiaries

You can name as many beneficiaries as you want, subject to procedures set in the policy. The beneficiary to whom the proceeds go first is called the primary beneficiary. Secondary or contingent beneficiaries are entitled to the proceeds only if they survive both you and the primary beneficiary. It’s important to name a contingent beneficiary because if you and your primary beneficiary die simultaneously, the Uniform Simultaneous Death Act provides that the beneficiary will be presumed to have died first. By naming a contingent beneficiary, you avoid having the proceeds flow to your estate.

Multiple Beneficiaries

You may name multiple beneficiaries if you choose. There are no legal restrictions (and few company restrictions) on the number of beneficiaries you can designate.

If you name multiple beneficiaries, you must also specify how much each beneficiary will receive. You may not want to give each beneficiary an equal share, so you must state how the proceeds should be divided. Because of the numerous interest and dividend adjustments that the insurance company must make, the death benefit check often does not equal the policy’s face value. So, it’s wise to distribute percentage shares to your beneficiaries, or to designate one beneficiary to receive any leftover balance.

How Do You Name or Change A Beneficiary?

When you buy life insurance, you will indicate your beneficiaries on the application. When changing a beneficiary, the insurer will provide you with a beneficiary designation form. Unless one or more of the beneficiaries is irrevocable, you only need to list the names of the beneficiaries, sign the form, and date it. This will automatically revoke any previous designations by writing this in on the change-of-beneficiary form. Be sure to check and update your beneficiary designations upon certain life events (e.g., divorce, remarriage, the birth of children).

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that you can change your beneficiary in your will. A change of beneficiary made in your will does not override the beneficiary designation of your life insurance policy. If you want to change the beneficiary of your life insurance, execute a change-of-beneficiary form. Do not rely on your will to do so.

Why Designating The Proper Beneficiary Is Important

You should name both primary and contingent beneficiaries. If you have not named one or more beneficiaries, the proceeds pass to your estate at your death. Proceeds paid to your estate are subject to probate and will incur all of the expenses and delays associated with settling an estate. But named beneficiaries receive proceeds almost immediately after your death, and probate is bypassed. In addition, proceeds passing to your estate are subject to the claims of creditors. Most states exempt life insurance proceeds from creditors when there’s a named beneficiary.

Other Considerations When Designating Beneficiaries

If you become incompetent, you cannot name or change a beneficiary. And you’re incompetent only if you are legally declared to be so. The test is similar to the test regarding the making of wills or any other legal contract (i.e., do you have the capacity to understand your actions?).

Do not name a minor as a beneficiary unless you also appoint a guardian in your will or use a trust. If you do name a minor as a beneficiary, and you do not appoint a guardian or use a trust, the probate court will appoint a guardian for you. In states that have adopted the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act, it’s possible to create a custodial account of the minor after the death of the insured to receive the child’s share of the death proceeds.

Your right to change a beneficiary may be limited by a divorce decree or settlement agreement. In some cases, divorce allows a policyowner to change the beneficiary, even if the beneficiary is irrevocable. In other cases, the policyowner may be prohibited from changing the beneficiary or may be required to name a divorced spouse or children as irrevocable beneficiaries.

If You’re A Minor

In some states, if you (the insured) are a minor, you can name only a certain class of persons as beneficiaries. That class generally includes your spouse, parents, grandparents, and brothers or sisters. Your parents or legal guardians will also have to sign the application for life insurance.

Have questions? Need help? Call the CAPTRUST Advice Desk at 800.967.9948, or schedule an appointment with a retirement counselor today.

Source: Broadridge Investor Communication Solutions, Inc.

The law gives you the freedom to make a Will that distributes your property how and to whom you wish. But if you die without a Will in Texas, a statutory formula, that does not take into account your wishes and unique circumstances, determines how your property will be distributed.

Below is a summary of how property is distributed when someone dies without a Will in Texas.

Who Inherits Property When a Single Person With No Children Dies Without a Will in Texas?

If a you are single and die without a will in Texas, your property will be distributed as follows:

Your estate will pass equally to your parents if both are living. If one parent has died, and you don’t have any siblings, then your estate will pass to your surviving parent.
However if you do have siblings or descendants of siblings (nieces and nephews), then your surviving parent would receive only half of the estate. The remaining one-half would be divided among your siblings or their descendants.
All of your estate would pass to your siblings or their descendants if you have no surviving parents.
If you have no surviving parents, siblings, or descendants of siblings, then the estate will be divided into two halves. One half will pass to relatives on your mother’s side. The other half will pass to relatives on your father’s side.
If one side of the family has died out, the surviving side of the family would inherit the entire estate.
On rare occasions, when an unmarried person dies without any surviving heirs, his estate will pass to the State of Texas.

Perhaps you have a close friend who you would have wanted to share in your estate. That would not be possible without a will.

Who Inherits When a Single Person with Children Dies Without a Will?

If you are single and have children, then all your property will pass to your descendants. If your descendants are of the same degree of relationship, (meaning, for example, all are your children or all are your grandchildren), then the assets will be divided equally between them.

However, if your descendants are of different degrees of relationship, (meaning some of your children survive while others predecease you, leaving children or grandchildren of their own), then the younger generation will inherit only the share the older generation would have received had he or she survived.

For example, supposed you had three children. If all three survive you, then each will receive 1/3 of your estate. If one dies before you, but has two surviving children, then the two surviving children would inherit 1/3, but the children of the deceased child would split their parent’s share. However, suppose all the children predecease you, and 6 grandchildren in total survive you. In that case, your estate would be split into 6 shares, one for each grandchild.

Who Inherits When A Married Person Dies Without a Will in Texas?

Many people assume that a surviving spouse will inherit all a deceased spouse’s estate if they die without a Will in Texas. This is not always the case. How their property is divided depends on whether it is characterized as community property or separate property.

Community Property

In Texas, there is a presumption that all property acquired during a marriage community property. Under Texas laws, if you are married and your spouse and children survive you, then:

Your surviving spouse will inherit all your community property if all your children are also the children of your surviving spouse;
Otherwise, all your one-half interest in the community estate will pass to your children, with your spouse keeping only his or her one-half interest.

If you do not have any children, then your surviving spouse will inherit all of your community property.

Separate Property

Separate property is property that you owned before marriage, or acquired, even during a marriage, by gift or inheritance. The intestate distribution formula is different for separate property:

If your spouse and children survive you, your surviving spouse will receive one third of your separate personal property. However, your surviving spouse will only receive a life estate (the right to use the property until his or her death) in one-third of your separate real property. Your children would inherit the remaining interest outright.
If you are married, but don’t have descendants, your separate personal property will be distributed to your surviving spouse . However, if you have surviving parents and siblings, your surviving spouse will receive only one-half of the separate real property. The other half will pass to your parents, siblings or descendants of siblings according to a statutory formula.

If you want the freedom to decide how and to whom your property will be distributed when you die, you need a will.

This post was originally published on October 18, 2010, and updated on April 9, 2020.