Estate planning at Transamerica

The Beneficiary Change Form (BEN-CCC, https://ani.transamerica.com/ani/Uploads/Pages/44152/BEN-CCC%2002-2014%202%20Co%20FILLABLE.pdf) rejects dollar amounts — you must use percentages, with primary beneficiaries totaling 100% and contingent beneficiaries independently totaling 100%. A trust must be written with its full name and date ("John Doe Revocable Trust, dated 01/01/1999"). If the policy is already trust-owned, the trustee signs with a trustee title and a Trustee Certification Form must be on file. Writing "Irrevocable" next to a beneficiary locks the designation: that person must then sign every future change, and may have to sign other policy changes and disbursements. And a payment to a minor beneficiary goes to a court-appointed guardian of the estate or conservator unless state law says otherwise, which is the usual reason to route a minor's share through a trust.