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beneficiary

 
American Heritage Dictionary:

ben·e·fi·ci·ar·y

(bĕn'ə-fĭsh'ē-ĕr'ē, -fĭsh'ə-rē) pronunciation
n., pl., -ies.
  1. One that receives a benefit: I am the beneficiary of your generosity.
  2. The recipient of funds, property, or other benefits, as from an insurance policy or will.
  3. Ecclesiastical. The holder of a benefice.

[Medieval Latin beneficiārius, holder of a feudal benefice, from Latin, soldier granted privileges, from beneficium, benefit. See benefice.]

beneficiary ben'e·fi'ci·ar'y adj.

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Person or entity (e.g., a charity or estate) that receives a benefit from something (e.g., a trust, life-insurance policy, or contract). A primary beneficiary receives proceeds from a trust or insurance policy before any other. A contingent beneficiary receives proceeds upon the occurrence of a specified event, such as the death of the primary beneficiary. A direct beneficiary is a third party whom contracting individuals intend to benefit from a contract; an incidental beneficiary benefits without that being the contracting individuals' intention.

For more information on beneficiary, visit Britannica.com.

Designation by the owner of a life insurance policy indicating to whom the proceeds are to be paid upon the insured’s death or when an endowment matures. Anyone can be named a beneficiary (relative, non-relative, pet, charity, corporation, trustee, partnership).
A primary beneficiary is the first-named beneficiary, who must survive the death of the insured in order to collect the proceeds.
A contingent or secondary beneficiary will receive the proceeds if the primary beneficiary does not survive the insured. A revocable beneficiary (primary or secondary) can be changed by the policyowner at any time. An irrevocable beneficiary ( primary or secondary) can be changed by the policyowner only with the written permission of that beneficiary. Naming an irrevocable beneficiary removes the policy from the estate of the insured, who thereby gives up incidences of ownership for estate tax purposes.
If a beneficiary is convicted of murdering the insured, the beneficiary cannot collect the death benefit. The insured’s estate would receive the benefit.

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The person who receives or is to receive the benefits resulting from certain acts.


Example: Whitman takes out a $100,000 life insurance policy with her husband as the beneficiary. Should Whitman die, her husband will receive the benefits from the policy.

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Antonyms by Answers.com:

beneficiary

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n

Definition: person who gains, benefits
Antonyms: giver, payer

This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

An organization or a person for whom a trust is created and who thereby receives the benefits of the trust. One who inherits under a will. A person entitled to a beneficial interest or a right to profits, benefit, or advantage from a contract.

(ben-uh-fish-ee-er-ee, ben-uh-fish-uh-ree)

The recipient of funds, property, or other benefits from an insurance policy, will, trust, or other settlement.

A person or entity named in a will or a financial contract as the inheritor of property when the property owner dies.

Investopedia Says:
A beneficiary can be a spouse, child, charity or any entity or person to whom the property owner would like to leave his or her possessions and assets.

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Make sure your beneficiary designations not only reflect your intentions but also meet the requirements to be effective. Mistakes In Designating A Retirement Beneficiary
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Mosby's Dental Dictionary:

beneficiary

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n

1. a person eligible for benefits under a dental plan. n 2. a person who receives benefits under a dental benefit contract. See also covered person; insured; member; and subscriber.

Random House Word Menu:

categories related to 'beneficiary'

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Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
For a list of words related to beneficiary, see:
  • Banking and Financial Services - beneficiary: person for whom funds are placed in trust, in whose favor letter of credit is issued, or who receives income from estate, insurance policy, or annuity
  • Spending, Receiving, and Possessing Wealth - beneficiary: person named to receive income, inheritance, or proceeds of trust or insurance policy
  • Insurance - beneficiary: person eligible to receive insurance payments


Wikipedia on Answers.com:

Beneficiary

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A beneficiary (also, in trust law, cestui que use) in the broadest sense is a natural person or other legal entity who receives money or other benefits from a benefactor. For example: The beneficiary of a life insurance policy, is the person who receives the payment of the amount of insurance after the death of the insured. The beneficiaries of a trust are the persons with equitable ownership of the trust assets, although legal title is held by the trustee. The term can also be described as an "inheritance" used in the context for the party (heir or heiress) receiving the property related thereto. Beneficiaries in other contexts are known by other names: for example, the beneficiaries of a will are called devisees or legatees according to local custom.

Most beneficiaries, may be designed to designate where the assets will go once the owner(s) ceases to exist. However, if the primary beneficiary or beneficiaries are not alive or do not qualify under the restrictions, then the assets will probably pass to the contingent beneficiaries. Other restrictions such as being married or more creative ones can be used by a benefactor to attempt to control the behavior of the beneficiaries. Some situations such as retirement accounts do not allow any restrictions beyond death of the primary beneficiaries, but trusts allow any restrictions that are not illegal or for an illegal purpose.

The concept of a "beneficiary" will also frequently figure in contracts other than insurance policies. A third-party beneficiary of a contract is a person whom the parties intend to benefit from its provisions but who is not a party to the contract. A software distributor, for example, may seek provisions protecting its customers from infringement claims. A software licensor may include in its agreements provisions that protect those who provided code to that licensor.

In the context of development aid, the term "beneficiaries" refers to the persons and the communities that utilize the project outputs, i.e., the entities that development-aid projects attempt to empower by dispensing development assistance or humanitarian relief. Some publications and speakers improperly use the term "beneficiary" to refer to an organization receiving a donation to be used for the benefit of such an entity. Although this usage is inspired by the principle, accurate in other contexts, that the entity that receives a donation is the beneficiary of that donation, the usage is ambiguous in the development-aid context, where the identities of the donation's ultimate, substantive recipients are distinct from that of the immediate, formal recipient.

See also


Misspellings:

beneficiary

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Common misspelling(s) of beneficiary

  • beneficary

Translations:

Beneficiary

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - begunstiget, brugsberettiget

Nederlands (Dutch)
begunstigde, vruchtgebruiker

Français (French)
n. - bénéficiaire, légataire, ayant droit, (Relig) bénéficier

Deutsch (German)
n. - Nutznießer

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - δικαιούχος, δωρεοδόχος

Italiano (Italian)
beneficiario

Português (Portuguese)
n. - beneficiário (m)

Русский (Russian)
бенефициарий, наследник

Español (Spanish)
n. - beneficiario, beneficiado

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - förmånstagare, betalningsmottagare

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
受惠者, 受益人

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 受惠者, 受益人

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 이익을 받는 사람

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 受益者, 受取人
adj. - 聖職禄の

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) مستفيد, منتفع‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮נהנה (מעיזבון), בעל קצבה‬


 
 
Related topics:
Succession Beneficiary Clause (insurance term)
Equitable Owner (business term)
Change of Beneficiary Provision (insurance term)

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American Heritage Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 1994-2012 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Barron's Insurance Dictionary. Dictionary of Insurance Terms. Copyright © 2008 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Barron's Real Estate Dictionary. Dictionary of Real Estate Terms. Copyright © 2008 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Answers Corporation Antonyms by Answers.com. © 1999-present by Answers Corporation. All rights reserved.  Read more
$copyright.smallImage.alttext West's Encyclopedia of American Law. West's Encyclopedia of American Law. Copyright © 1998 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: Economics. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.  Read more
Investopedia Financial Dictionary. Copyright ©2010, Investopedia.com - Owned and Operated by Investopedia US, A Division of ValueClick, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Mosby's Dental Dictionary. Mosby's Dental Dictionary. Copyright © 2004 by Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Random House Word Menu. © 2010 Write Brothers Inc. Word Menu is a registered trademark of the Estate of Stephen Glazier. Write Brothers Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
 Rhymes. Oxford University Press. © 2006, 2007 All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia on Answers.com. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Beneficiary Read more
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