When purchasing a life insurance policy, there are two main things to consider: the owner and the beneficiaries. Choosing someone may impact your income, end-of-life planning, and estate taxes, as well as offer solutions or create difficulties for your family.
Life Insurance Policy Ownership
Ownership Rights
A life insurance policy owner can keep or transfer any or all of these rights. Ownership rights include the following:
- The right to sell or transfer ownership rights is called “transferability.”
- The right to modify select policy provisions
- The privilege of surrendering or canceling the policy
- The policy’s right to borrow against its cash value
- The right to choose and modify a primary beneficiary and contingent beneficiary
- The right to decide how the death benefit will be distributed to beneficiaries.
Owning Your Own Life Insurance Policy
The most frequent type of ownership is to acquire a policy on your own life. You pay the premiums, are named the insured on the policy, and have complete control over the property rights with an individual policy.
Owning a Life Insurance Policy on Someone Else
Many think about life insurance only when buying it for themselves. But you can also buy life insurance for another person if you have a financial interest in that person.
Spouses and parents have an insurable interest in each other. So does a business when it has life insurance on its key employees or when it guarantees repayment of a loan with life insurance.
Trust-Owned Life Insurance Policy
Many individuals choose to have trusts own their life insurance policies. This arrangement may provide two distinct advantages. First, it enables the trust to manage how the death benefit is spent. Second, if established as an irrevocable trust, it removes death assets from the estate.
What is A Life Insurance Beneficiary?
In the unfortunate event of a policyholder’s passing, their designated beneficiary receives the death benefit payout from their life insurance policy. A life insurance beneficiary can be an individual or an organization. The policyholder can name one or more beneficiaries and specify the percentage of each beneficiary’s death benefit. Therefore, it is essential to keep the beneficiaries updated in case of any changes in the policyholder’s life, such as marriage, divorce, or the beneficiary’s death.
You can choose a beneficiary for your policy, or the policy may pass to the designated person or persons by default. If you don’t name a beneficiary, your estate is typically named as the recipient. Your beneficiary must have an insurable interest in you to avoid income tax consequences while a policy is put on your life.
- Primary Beneficiary: The person or entity you designate to receive your life insurance benefits when paid at your death is the primary beneficiary.
- Contingent Beneficiary: The contingent beneficiary is the individual or entity you designate to inherit your life insurance money if the primary beneficiary passes away before you.
- Revocable Beneficiary: The policy owner can cancel at any time before their death.
- Irrevocable Beneficiary: The policy owner cannot cancel unless the beneficiary consents. An irrevocable beneficiary can’t change the policy.
- Multiple Beneficiaries: If you want, you may name as many beneficiaries as required. There are no legal limits on the number of people you can include in your will, and there aren’t many corporate rules either. You may modify your beneficiaries if you still retain your ownership rights. If you name more than one beneficiary, the amount each of them will get must also be specified.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can you transfer a life insurance policy to another person?
Yes, you can transfer a life insurance policy to another person. However, you will need to contact the insurance company to make sure that the transfer is allowed under the terms of the policy. You may also be required to pay a transfer fee.