Northwestern Mutual offers 14 insurance products that play a central role in estate planning. Because policy proceeds pass directly to named beneficiaries—bypassing probate entirely—keeping designations current is one of the highest-impact steps policyholders can take.

Managing beneficiaries at Northwestern Mutual is straightforward—changes can be made online, in branch, by mail, and by phone, typically taking 10-15 minutes online; 2-4 weeks by mail. Trust funding is also available, allowing families to name a trust as the policy beneficiary or establish an irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT).

Northwestern Mutual provides specific procedures for both proactive estate planning and filing claims after a death.

Preparing your estate

Beneficiaries and trust funding

How to manage beneficiaries online, fund a trust in-branch, and review 14 account types at Northwestern Mutual.

View details →

When someone dies

Death claim process

6-step process, 7 required documents, and contact information for survivors.

View details →

Frequently asked questions

For life insurance policies, log in to your account at login.northwesternmutual.com, navigate to the Insurance tab, select your policy, and update your beneficiary information. You can also complete a Change of Beneficiary form and mail it to Northwestern Mutual, P.O. Box 2958, Milwaukee, WI 53201, or fax it to 414-625-1215. For name or address updates only (such as after marriage or legal name change), no form is needed -- call your representative or 877-394-9524. The policyowner is the only person who can change the beneficiary. For investment products, call 866-950-4644. For Income Annuities, call 866-269-2950.

To change policy ownership, complete and sign an Owner Designation form. Contact your financial representative or call 877-394-9524 (Monday-Friday, 7am-6pm CT) to request the form. You may designate multiple policyowners, though all must act jointly and provide signatures for policy changes. Changing ownership does not automatically change the beneficiary, so you must separately update beneficiary designations if needed. Consult a tax advisor or attorney before changing ownership, as trust or family ownership may offer tax or legal advantages.

For non-qualified annuities (funded with after-tax dollars), a trust can be the contract owner. Northwestern Mutual's FAQ confirms that the policyowner does not have to be the insured or premium payor, except on tax-qualified annuities. However, trust ownership of a non-qualified annuity has tax consequences: the IRS treats a non-natural owner (such as a trust) as the holder, which eliminates the tax deferral on growth and subjects the contract to a 5-year distribution rule rather than the stretch option available to individual beneficiaries. Trust ownership may still be appropriate when a successor trustee needs control of the annuity alongside other trust assets. Tax-qualified annuities (e.g., IRA annuities) cannot be transferred to or owned by a trust without triggering a fully taxable distribution. Consult a tax advisor before retitling any annuity to a trust. Trusts can be named as the beneficiary on both qualified and non-qualified annuities without these tax consequences.