How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at Farm Bureau Financial

A life insurance policy's beneficiary is named or changed on the Beneficiary Designation form (433-64).¹

An annuity contract's beneficiary is named or changed on the Beneficiary Designation form (433-64).¹

The form offers a spouse as primary beneficiary with the children as contingent beneficiaries, per capita (item 2) or per stirpes (item 3).¹

A living trust can be named as primary or as contingent beneficiary under item 4 of the form.¹

If the trust has terminated, or evidence of the trust's qualifications is not furnished to the Company within 365 days of the insured's death, item 4 directs the proceeds to the estate of the insured instead.¹

A testamentary trust under the insured's last will can be named under item 5 of the form.¹

The insured's estate can be named under item 6 of the form, naming the personal representative.¹

A charity can be named under item 7 of the form.¹

Named primary and contingent beneficiaries (item 1) and charities (item 7) each take the percentage the owner enters, and the percentages must total 100%.¹

Equal percentages are read as a per capita designation unless the form says otherwise.¹

Form 433-64 requires the policy owner's signature. No witness signature is required, but a co-owner, assignee or irrevocable beneficiary must also sign where applicable.¹

Only the policy owner can change the beneficiary designation. An irrevocable beneficiary designation requires the beneficiary's written consent (signature) to change.¹

Completed by the policy owner. Available to download.¹

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Filing form 433-64 revokes all earlier beneficiary directions on the policy, except those in any Family, Spouse, Dependent, or Children's Term Insurance Rider attached to it.¹

A partial update still has to restate every beneficiary the owner wants to keep.¹

The change takes effect only when recorded by the Company at its Home Office, and is then effective as of the date of the request.¹

A Simultaneous Death provision applies only if it is checked on page 2 of the form and a number of days is written in, and the period cannot exceed 30 days.¹

If no designated beneficiary survives the insured, the proceeds are paid in one sum to the owner of the policy at the time of the insured's death, if living, and otherwise to the insured's estate.²

Any payment due to a minor payee is made to the minor's legally appointed conservator, guardian, or representative, not to the minor.¹

The policy carries a spendthrift clause: no beneficiary may commute, anticipate, encumber, alienate, withdraw, or assign a share of the proceeds, and to the extent permitted by law the payments are not subject to the beneficiary's debts and cannot be levied on or attached.²

A trust becomes the owner of a policy through Section 4, Transfer of Ownership, of the Policy Service Request form (433-279), the route for an irrevocable life insurance trust.³

The contingent owner section of the Policy Service Request does not apply to annuities.³

Completed by the current owner and the new owner (the trustee). Available to download.³

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Sent by the institution on request.³

The Policy Service Request states that any ownership change removes all existing owners and contingent owners, so an existing co-owner or contingent owner the owner wants to keep has to be re-affirmed on the same form.³

Unless the form says otherwise, the insured becomes the owner on the death of the owner and contingent owner, and multiple owners are treated as joint tenants with full rights of survivorship.³

The current owner signs, and the new owner (the trustee) must also sign, along with any assignee, co-owner, or irrevocable beneficiary.³

The person signing as owner declares a legal right to assign, transfer, or surrender the policy and that no bankruptcy proceedings are in process against the insured, any owner, or any assignee.³