Many assets are structured in such a way that the owner can designate who will be the new owner upon the present owner’s death. The form used to do this is often called a beneficiary designation. The act of designating the beneficiary or the
fact of a beneficiary having been designated are also
referred to by the term. Examples of assets which often allow beneficiary designations are life insurance policies, retirement plan interests (such as pension, profit sharing and 401k plans), and IRAs. Bank accounts often allow the equivalent of a beneficiary designation. This can be referred to as a pay on death account or a tentative or Totten trust account. The designated beneficiary gets it on the death of the owner, but has no rights as long as the owner is alive.
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