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
benefit
Benefit or benefits may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''Benefit'' (album), by Jethro Tull, 1970
* "Benefits" (''How I Met Your Mother''), a 2009 TV episode
* ''The Benefit'', a 2012 Egyptian action film
Businesses and organisation ...
s from a
benefactor
Benefactor may refer to:
* ''Benefactor'' (album), a 1982 album by Romeo Void
* Benefactor (law) for a person whose actions benefit another or a person that gives back to others
* Benefication (metallurgy)
In the mining
Mining is the ext ...
. 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.
Most beneficiaries may be designed to designate where the assets will go when the owner(s) dies. However, if the primary beneficiary or beneficiaries are not alive or do not qualify under the restrictions, 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" refer to the persons and the communities that use the project outputs: the entities that development-aid projects.
See also
*
Beneficiary (trust)
*
Estate planning
*
Inheritance
*
Birth certificate
*
Legal fiction
A legal fiction is a fact assumed or created by courts, which is then used in order to help reach a decision or to apply a legal rule. The concept is used almost exclusively in common law jurisdictions, particularly in England and Wales.
Deve ...
References
Legal terminology
Wills and trusts
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