Ex-Partner Stands to Receive $1 Million Bequest as Family Fights Uphill Battle

A charity needs to be certain that the beneficiary designation unambiguously designates the organization as the payee. It is a near-universal rule that the custodian of such accounts will direct the proceeds to the named beneficiary regardless of evidence of a contrary intention or even in the presence of a different instruction included in a will or trust.

Similarly, custodial institutions frequently change, or merge, with near-inevitable corruption of data. If a proper beneficiary designation has disappeared (and no other designation exists), courts are more likely to accept extrinsic evidence of the account owner’s intent. In these cases, gift planning records can sometimes save the day for a charity.