Beneficiary

Beneficiary: A beneficiary is a person or organization designated to receive assets or benefits under a legal arrangement — a will, a trust, a life insurance policy, a retirement account, or a payable-on-death bank account. In a will, beneficiaries receive what the will leaves them after debts and taxes are paid. In a trust, beneficiaries receive distributions according to the trust's terms and have enforceable rights: to information about the trust, to accountings from the trustee, and to ask a court to remove a trustee who breaches their duties. Beneficiary designations on accounts and policies generally override a will, which is why keeping them current matters so much.