In Canada, life insurance is included in a will when the beneficiary is the estate. If the beneficiary is an individual then the death benefit passes directly to the individual bypassing the will and probate.
It is possible to name a beneficiary of a life insurance policy using your will, but it is not recommended.
If you have further questions, or feel that I could be of assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.
If you would like to work with a local life insurance broker, you could start with a Google search. For example, if you search for: life insurance broker Halifax or life insurance agent Halifax, my name, along with several others, will come up. You can use the same method to find a life insurance broker in your community.
In the United States your life insurance is separate from your will. However, if there are stipulations to the proceeds to your beneficiary then a will is the correct document to direct those wishes. A will is especially useful when naming a minor child primary beneficiary as to the guardian or trust to disperse proceeds. Seek legal advise if you are considering putting the life insurance proceeds in the will. If it is documented improperly you may trigger income tax on the proceeds which otherwise would be tax free.
Co-Founder, TermInsuranceBrokers.com, Goldenzweig Financial Group, Las Vegas, Nevada
Your life insurance is not included in your will. The monies are paid out as designated by the policy (the primary beneficiary(ies) are paid first - if the primary beneficiary predeceases the insured, the contingent beneficiary(ies) would be paid the proceeds).
If the monies are paid to the insured's estate (the estate is the beneficiary to the policy or all named beneficiaries predeceased the insured) then the will would control how the monies are distributed because it controls who receives what from the estate. If the insured dies intestate (did not have a will) then the monies and the rest of the estate will go through the probate process.
A life insurance trust can often be more useful for a variety of reasons including controlling exactly how you want the proceeds distributed and when they are distributed to the recipients, and estate tax purposes.
Business Development Officer, T.D. McNeil Insurance Services, Fresno, California
A will is subject to a legal procedure called probate. A life insurance policy can pass outside the probate procedure and isn’t subject to the will. If the life insurance policy hasn’t specified a beneficiary who is capable of accepting the proceeds, the contingent beneficiary would receive the funds. If that is not possible the proceeds could revert to the estate in which case they would be subject to probate.
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It is possible to name a beneficiary of a life insurance policy using your will, but it is not recommended.
If you have further questions, or feel that I could be of assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.
If you would like to work with a local life insurance broker, you could start with a Google search. For example, if you search for: life insurance broker Halifax or life insurance agent Halifax, my name, along with several others, will come up. You can use the same method to find a life insurance broker in your community.
If the monies are paid to the insured's estate (the estate is the beneficiary to the policy or all named beneficiaries predeceased the insured) then the will would control how the monies are distributed because it controls who receives what from the estate. If the insured dies intestate (did not have a will) then the monies and the rest of the estate will go through the probate process.
A life insurance trust can often be more useful for a variety of reasons including controlling exactly how you want the proceeds distributed and when they are distributed to the recipients, and estate tax purposes.