How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at Kansas City Life
Covers 16 insurance accounts — beneficiaries can be managed online
Customer Services (policy changes, beneficiary changes)
Forms and policy changes: Kansas City Life Insurance Company, 3520 Broadway / P.O. Box 219272, Kansas City, MO 64121-9272. General mail: P.O. Box 219139, Kansas City, MO 64121-9139.
Customer Services (policy changes, beneficiary changes)
Forms and policy changes: Kansas City Life Insurance Company, 3520 Broadway / P.O. Box 219272, Kansas City, MO 64121-9272. General mail: P.O. Box 219139, Kansas City, MO 64121-9139.
Life Claims Department
Kansas City Life Insurance Company, Life Claims Department, P.O. Box 219282, Kansas City, MO 64121-9282
Estate planning with Kansas City Life policies centers on beneficiary designations—the single most important step for ensuring life insurance proceeds and annuity benefits reach the intended recipients without probate involvement. Unlike bank or brokerage accounts, insurance products are not retitled into trusts; instead, trusts are named as beneficiaries when estate tax planning or controlled distributions are needed.
With 16 product types, Kansas City Life offers a range of transfer options. Some policies support beneficiary designations, others can be retitled into a trust, and some require probate if no beneficiary is designated. The sections below break down each step.
- Log in at https://www.kclife.com/account/Login.aspx (the same login covers legacy Sunset Life policies; sunsetlife.com now redirects to kclife.com)
- Select the policy you own from the list, then use the self-service menu to request a beneficiary change
- Or download the form directly: https://www.kclife.com/_assets/pdf/customer/299SP.pdf (Change of Beneficiary, Form No. 299 / 299SP)
- Use a SEPARATE form for each insured; Kansas City Life will not process one form covering two insureds
- Policy number(s) and the insured's name
- For each primary and each contingent beneficiary: full legal name, relationship to the insured, address, phone number, Social Security number, and date of birth
- Percentages only. Kansas City Life does NOT accept dollar amounts, and it requires a contingent beneficiary for each primary designation so the proceeds still distribute if a primary predeceases the insured
- To name a trust: give the complete trust name, the date of the trust, and the name(s) of the trustee(s). A copy of the trust document listing the trustees is helpful but not required
- The owner signs and dates, and gives the owner's Social Security number (may be truncated) and address
- If the policy carries an irrevocable beneficiary, a creditor beneficiary, or an assignment, that party shares control and must also sign
- Massachusetts: the form must be witnessed by a disinterested third party (the form carries a Massachusetts-only witness line, and the witness cannot be a beneficiary)
- Oklahoma: if a charitable, benevolent, educational, or religious institution is named, both the owner AND the insured must sign
- Upload through the www.kclic.net secure download portal
- Email to customerservice@kclife.com
- Fax to 816-931-3585
- Mail to Kansas City Life Insurance Company, 3520 Broadway / P.O. Box 219272, Kansas City, MO 64121-9272
- The change is recorded and made part of the policy file on the date it is received in good order at the Home Office
- Kansas City Life mails a letter of notification to the policyowner at the address of record once the change is complete -- if that letter never arrives, the change did not go through
Required Documents
- Trust name, date established, and tax ID (EIN or SSN)
Special Requirements
- Percentages only -- Kansas City Life does not accept dollar-amount designations, and it requires a contingent beneficiary for each primary designation
- A separate Form 299SP is required for each insured
- Trust beneficiary: give the complete trust name, the trust date, and the trustee name(s); a copy of the trust document listing the trustees is helpful but not required
- Massachusetts: the beneficiary form must be witnessed by a disinterested third party (someone other than a beneficiary)
- Oklahoma: naming a charitable, benevolent, educational, or religious institution requires the signature of BOTH the owner and the insured
- Georgia, Michigan, Texas, and Oklahoma: a funeral home may not be named as beneficiary (Michigan and Oklahoma allow a collateral assignment to the funeral home instead). Illinois: a funeral home cannot be named at issue, but can be named after the policy is issued. Minnesota, Montana, and South Dakota allow it only with the wording "as their interest may appear"
- Georgia additionally requires the children to be named individually -- "children born of the marriage" is not accepted
- An irrevocable beneficiary, creditor beneficiary, or assignee shares control of the policy and must sign any beneficiary change
- Minor beneficiaries: Kansas City Life may not be able to pay proceeds to a minor, because a minor cannot give a proper receipt. Its own guidance is to name the trustee of a trust for the minor, or a custodian under the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (Uniform Gifts to Minors Act in South Carolina and Vermont)
- Community property states: if the spouse is not the primary beneficiary, the spouse may have a statutory claim to part of the proceeds where premiums were paid with community property funds
- Divorce: some states automatically revoke a spousal designation on divorce. To keep an ex-spouse as beneficiary, Kansas City Life instructs the owner to file a NEW Form 299SP showing the relationship as "ex-spouse"
- Income Assured Option (Designation of Death Benefit Payout): a no-cost endorsement the OWNER elects, letting the owner fix how the death benefit is paid out (a lump sum plus an income stream of five to 30 years, paid annually, semi-annually, quarterly, or monthly). Elected in advance, it binds the payout the beneficiary receives
- A beneficiary designation controls over a will
Sources
Data sourced from Kansas City Life primary sources (15 pages reviewed). How we research.
Download these Kansas City Life instructions
Download instructions for the whole estateA printable PDF with the steps, required documents, and contact details — verified against Kansas City Life primary sources. Bring it to the branch or keep it beside the phone.
Customer Services (policy changes, beneficiary changes)
Forms and policy changes: Kansas City Life Insurance Company, 3520 Broadway / P.O. Box 219272, Kansas City, MO 64121-9272. General mail: P.O. Box 219139, Kansas City, MO 64121-9139.
Customer Services (policy changes, beneficiary changes)
Forms and policy changes: Kansas City Life Insurance Company, 3520 Broadway / P.O. Box 219272, Kansas City, MO 64121-9272. General mail: P.O. Box 219139, Kansas City, MO 64121-9139.
Life Claims Department
Kansas City Life Insurance Company, Life Claims Department, P.O. Box 219282, Kansas City, MO 64121-9282
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