Should the trust or the trustee be named as beneficiary of a life insurance policy

[shadowlite]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Georgia

In the case of a living trust, should the trust or the trustee be named as beneficiary of a life insurance policy if the settlor wants the proceeds to go into the trust? Does it matter? It seems like naming the trustee (that is the person's name) would bypass the trust.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

Only if the policy holder wants them to get the money for themselves.

 

[shadowlite]

My question wasn't clear enough. I meant to ask who should be named as the beneficiary: the trust itself or the trustee of the trust?

 

[ShyCat]

If the beneficiary of the life insurance policy is the trustee, that individual gets the money -- NOT the trust. For the trust to get the insurance payout, the trust must be the named beneficiary.

 

[FlyingRon]

You should also talk to an advisor on this. In many cases it's better to name the beneficiaries (the people) than the trust.

 

[TrustUser]

while naming the trust is probably okay, the trustee is the more preferred way of doing it.

john smith, trustee of the abc trust

you might want to contact the life insurance company, tell them that you want the trust to end up with the money, and if they have a preference for how the beneficiary should be named.