Beneficiary designations are used to indicate a transfer in ownership of an asset to a named beneficiary on the death of the owner. Typical assets that require beneficiary designations include life insurance policies, retirement plans, annuities, health savings accounts, employee stock purchase plans, deferred compensation plans, and stock options. Financial institutions also sometimes offer transfer on death accounts (generally, for securities accounts) or pay on death accounts (generally, for cash accounts), which require a designated beneficiary.

This Toolkit contains continuously maintained resources that provide information regarding beneficiary designations in various states and to assist counsel in properly designating beneficiaries for clients' assets. The resources include practice notes in limited jurisdictions and standard clauses that can be modified for use in any jurisdiction to designate various types of beneficiaries including: