However, other blood relatives such as grandchildren, friends, employers or business partners, trusts, and even charities are other examples of people and entities
sometimes named beneficiaries.
Not exact matches
When someone is
named a
beneficiary and dies with the insured in a car accident or within a very short period of time (hours, not days, but that is driven by each state), then
sometimes the money will go around that person and to the contingent
beneficiary.
Many times a policyowner will
name a spouse as a
beneficiary, but
sometimes not.
Also worth noting that distributions to heirs at law, which is the formal
name for people who take via intestacy statutes, are often inferior, at least in part, to the claims of creditors against your probate estate, although
sometimes a family provision or «exempt property» or a joint tenancy or
beneficiary designation, will have priority over a creditor's claims.
It is
sometimes advantageous to have these plan assets paid to trusts, but
naming a trust as the
beneficiary of such plan assets raises a number of complex income tax, estate planning and other issues.
Sometimes an ex-spouse is
named as the
beneficiary by mistake because the husband or wife forgot to change the
beneficiary after divorce.