In order to find out who the original beneficiary is on a life insurance policy, you can refer to the policy itself. In order to determine who is the current beneficiary you would need to check with the insurance company. The company will release this information to the owner of the policy or his/her representative.
You agent or broker should be able to assist you.
I should point out that in Canada you can name a beneficiary of a life insurance policy in your will. Since that can cause potential issue is is not often recommended.
If you have further questions, or feel that I could be of assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.
If you would like to work with a local life insurance broker, you could start with a Google search. For example, if you search for: life insurance broker Halifax or life insurance agent Halifax, my name, along with several others, will come up. You can use the same method to find a life insurance broker in your community.
Calling the life insurance company through which your policy was issued is the most sure way to find out who is named as beneficiary on the policy. You can do this while the Insured is still alive, or after death. If the insured person is still alive and wants to change his/her beneficiary, it can be done with a simple form.
If you know who the life insurance company is, it is a simple phone call by either the policyholder, if still alive or a family member. Usually the insurance company will want to know your relationship to the policyholder so they don't randomly inform people of others beneficiaries. If a change needs to be made to the beneficiary while the policyholder is still alive and in sound mind, it is just a simple form to make the change.
Co-Founder, TermInsuranceBrokers.com, Goldenzweig Financial Group, Las Vegas, Nevada
You can call your policy's agent or the carrier directly to find out the current beneficiary structure on the policy. This information can only be released to the policyowner and only the policyowner can make changes to the beneficiary structure, if desired.
If the policyowner wants to change the beneficiary, they only need to fill out a simple change of beneficiary form and submit it to the carrier - this can only be done while the insured is living, once they have passed away, no changes are allowed and the proceeds will be paid out as cited in the policy. You want to make sure you don't create any tax implications to the proceeds when you make those changes (e.g. violating the "goodman triangle") - you should discuss changes with your policy's agent before making any changes to ensure everything is in good order.
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You agent or broker should be able to assist you.
I should point out that in Canada you can name a beneficiary of a life insurance policy in your will. Since that can cause potential issue is is not often recommended.
If you have further questions, or feel that I could be of assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.
If you would like to work with a local life insurance broker, you could start with a Google search. For example, if you search for: life insurance broker Halifax or life insurance agent Halifax, my name, along with several others, will come up. You can use the same method to find a life insurance broker in your community.
If the policyowner wants to change the beneficiary, they only need to fill out a simple change of beneficiary form and submit it to the carrier - this can only be done while the insured is living, once they have passed away, no changes are allowed and the proceeds will be paid out as cited in the policy. You want to make sure you don't create any tax implications to the proceeds when you make those changes (e.g. violating the "goodman triangle") - you should discuss changes with your policy's agent before making any changes to ensure everything is in good order.