How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at Equitable

For Equitable policyholders, estate planning comes down to one critical step: making sure the right beneficiaries are named on every policy. Insurance proceeds bypass probate entirely and go directly to whoever is listed—regardless of what a will says. When estate tax planning or controlled distributions are a factor, a trust can be named as beneficiary instead.

Across 18 product types, Equitable policies vary in how they transfer at death. The sections below walk through beneficiary designations, trust funding options, and which products support each method.