If the life insurance policy has been put into Trust it should name who will receive the money, and the insurer will respect this. If there is no Trust, a life insurance payout will form part of the deceased’s estate. A legal process, called Probate, will determine how the life insurance payout is distributed. Having a valid Will can influence the decision; without a Will the payout will likely be distributed to the policyholder’s next of kin.
For terminal illness and critical illness claims, the payout will usually be sent to the legal policy holder, unless a Trust is in place which specifies whether some or all of the payout is retained or gifted.
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