Changing My Life Insurance Beneficiary?

A life insurance beneficiary is the person (or persons) designated as receiving an amount in the event of your death. It's important to remember that it's not only the named beneficiary that gets the money. Other people will be claimed as beneficiaries, as well. In general, the dependent children and dependents are the ones who will receive the money.

Who is a beneficiary? Children, parents, grandchildren or other relatives are beneficiaries. Spouses may claim one another as beneficiaries. It doesn't really matter in what order the beneficiaries are named; the important thing is that they all have a stake in the distribution of the life insurance benefit.

What is the basis for a life insurance beneficiary being a relative? It depends on whom you ask. If you ask a close friend, sibling, or spouse, they would probably say that they are beneficiaries. Your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins are all likely to do the same. The reason is simple - they've all had a relationship with you (whether good or not), and they want to receive some of your estate.

What about  Insureinfoq  who isn't your family member? Sometimes a friend isn't a blood relative, so to speak. Is this still a beneficiary? The answer might be "yes" if the friend has a similar financial need as you, or if they have comparable skills and talents.

How does your life insurance beneficiary status hold up in the event of a remarriage? If you've already determined a beneficiary, but you're getting a new spouse soon, then it's possible that you'll change your beneficiary status. Just be sure that any beneficiaries you name now will still have a say should you die during or immediately after your remarriage.

How about beneficiaries for other types of policies? Does your life insurance policy name a child or children, or someone who's in charge of a home or a similar financial need? If so, is there a way to transfer that benefit to your new spouse?

There are actually two options here. You can change your life insurance beneficiary status to someone in the family that is still married (the child or children are still covered under your policy, they just don't become your beneficiary). Alternatively, you can simply add your spouse to your beneficiaries. Both options carry certain complications, so you'll want to discuss them thoroughly with a qualified life insurance attorney.

Hopefully this article has given you some helpful insights into how to determine a life insurance beneficiary and keep it that way. Adding your spouse to your policy doesn't cost very much money - certainly less than having to take out a new life insurance policy with a new beneficiary. By law, once you change your beneficiary, you have to tell your existing policy holder.

If you're looking at changing your life insurance beneficiary status, you'll likely need to wait until your death benefits revert to the life insurance. If you die before your policy settles, your beneficiaries will be paid immediately. If you die after your policy settles, your beneficiaries won't receive anything until the policy settles. As long as your spouse isn't listed as a beneficiary, he or she can be listed as the legal owner of your life insurance benefit. It's important, though, to always remember your beneficiary and to never violate its wishes. Changing your beneficiary when you die, can cost you thousands of dollars more when you finally do pay out.

Some people wonder if it's possible to change their beneficiary to someone that isn't related to them by blood. In short, you can't change your life insurance beneficiary status. In fact, if you've already changed your beneficiaries, you can't change them again.

Also, don't try to create your own set of rules for who gets your life insurance beneficiary designation. The law says you have to settle who receives your designation based on your family as a whole. It also says that the person designated as your beneficiary should be someone you'd want to have financially support your dependents in the future, should you no longer have them. Don't make it harder for yourself by trying to claim your spouse as your beneficiary.

You have to decide for yourself who your life insurance beneficiary is. There's no good reason to play games when it comes to this. If you want to avoid costly claims, be sure to name your beneficiary carefully and follow the law.