(a) Life insurance may be made payable to a trustee to be named as beneficiary in the policy, and the proceeds of that insurance shall be paid to the trustee and shall be held and disposed of by the trustee as provided in a trust agreement made by the insured during the insured’s lifetime. It shall not be necessary to the validity of any such trust agreement or declaration of trust that it have a trust corpus other than the right of the trustee to receive the insurance proceeds as beneficiary.
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 35-50-103

  • Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
  • Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Probate: Proving a will
  • Testator: A male person who leaves a will at death.
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
(b) A policy of life insurance may designate as beneficiary a trustee or trustees named by will, if the designation is made in accordance with the policy and the requirements of the insurance company. Upon probate of the will, the proceeds of such insurance shall be payable to the trustee or trustees to be held and disposed of under the terms of the will as they exist as of the date of the death of the testator and in the same manner as other testamentary trusts are administered; but if no qualified trustee makes claim to the proceeds from the insurance company within eighteen (18) months after the death of the insured, or if satisfactory evidence is furnished to the insurance company within the eighteen-month period showing that there is or will be no trustee to receive the proceeds, payment shall be made by the insurance company to the executors, administrators or assigns of the insured, unless otherwise provided by agreement with the insurance company during the lifetime of the insured.
(c) The proceeds of the insurance as received by the trustee or trustees shall not be subject to debts of the insured.
(d) Insurance proceeds so held in trust shall not be considered part of the insured’s estate for administration purposes.
(e) Insurance proceeds so held in trust may be commingled with any other assets that may properly come into the trust.
(f) Nothing in this section shall affect the validity of any life insurance policy beneficiary designation previously made naming trustees of trusts established by living trust or by will.
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