To change the beneficiary on a Knights of Columbus life insurance policy or annuity, you complete the Knights of Columbus beneficiary designation form and return it to the Supreme Office through your field agent or by mail. The form asks for identifying details on each person, trust, or charity you name, along with the percentage share each should receive. Once processed, the new designation controls where your death benefit goes, no matter what your will says.
Where To Get the Form
The fastest route is your Knights of Columbus field agent. The agent locator at kofc.org/get-involved/find-an-agent searches by zip code or council number and returns the agent assigned to your area.1Knights of Columbus. Find an Agent Your agent can hand you a blank form, walk you through the fields, and forward the signed document to the home office.
If you’d rather handle it yourself, the KoC member portal and the organization’s planned giving page both point to the form.2Knights of Columbus Charities. Beneficiary Designations Have your certificate or policy number in front of you before you start. It’s printed on your original insurance contract and on any recent billing statement from the Knights of Columbus.
What To Have Ready Before You Fill It Out
Gather this information for each person or entity you plan to name:
- For individuals: full legal name, Social Security number, date of birth, and relationship to you.
- For a trust: the full legal name of the trust exactly as it appears in the trust document, the date it was established, and the current trustee’s name.
- For a charity: the organization’s full legal name and federal tax identification number. If you’re naming Knights of Columbus Charities, the legal name is “Knights of Columbus Charities, Inc.” and the tax ID is 23-7227608.2Knights of Columbus Charities. Beneficiary Designations
Missing or inaccurate identifying data is the most common reason a beneficiary change stalls. Double-check spellings and Social Security numbers before you sign. A typo here can hold up a claim at the worst possible time for your family.
Primary and Contingent Beneficiaries
The form asks you to name both primary and contingent beneficiaries. The primary beneficiary receives the death benefit when you die. The contingent, sometimes called secondary, receives the proceeds only if the primary is no longer living at that time.3Office of the State Comptroller. What Is the Difference Between a Primary Beneficiary and a Contingent Beneficiary With Regard to Death Benefits
Skipping the contingent line is a common oversight. If your primary beneficiary predeceases you and no contingent is named, the proceeds usually pass to your estate, which means probate, delay, and a distribution you may never have intended.
How To Assign Percentage Shares
When you name more than one primary beneficiary, each gets a percentage of the payout, and those percentages must add up to 100%. The same rule applies separately to your contingent beneficiaries: their shares are their own pool and must also total 100%.
Three beneficiaries splitting the proceeds evenly might read 33.33%, 33.33%, and 33.34%. Leaving the percentage column blank for everyone typically produces an equal split, but writing exact shares removes any ambiguity a claims processor might otherwise have to resolve.
Naming a Trust, a Charity, or a Minor
A trust as beneficiary lets a trustee manage the funds under the trust’s terms. List the trust by its full legal name exactly as written in the trust instrument, add the date it was established, and name the current trustee. Any mismatch between the form and the trust document can trigger delays when a claim is filed.
A charity can be your sole beneficiary or share the proceeds with individuals. The form needs the charity’s full legal name and federal tax ID so the Knights of Columbus can verify the organization and route payment.2Knights of Columbus Charities. Beneficiary Designations
Minors cannot legally manage large sums, so naming a child directly creates complications. Under the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act, adopted in most states, a custodian receives and manages the property for the minor until the child reaches the age of majority set by state law.4Social Security Administration. SI 01120.205 Uniform Transfers to Minors Act When you name a minor, include the custodian’s name. Otherwise a court may need to appoint a guardian, and that eats into the benefit through legal fees and time.
Per Stirpes or Per Capita
The form may let you designate your beneficiaries “per stirpes” or “per capita.” This choice matters only if a beneficiary dies before you do. Per stirpes sends a deceased beneficiary’s share down to that person’s children. Per capita generally splits the deceased beneficiary’s share among the surviving beneficiaries, though the exact mechanics can vary by insurer.5National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Life Insurance Beneficiaries – Per Capita vs Per Stirpes: Is It Really That Clear If you want a predeceased beneficiary’s share to stay in that person’s family line, per stirpes is usually the safer choice.
Spousal Consent in Community Property States
If you live in Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, or Wisconsin, your spouse may have a legal interest in the policy no matter who you name. A new designation on its own does not eliminate that community property interest. To remove a spouse fully, you generally need the spouse’s written consent to the change. If you’re going through a divorce, coordinate the beneficiary update with your divorce decree or settlement agreement so a claim can’t be disputed later.
How To Submit the Completed Form
Once every field is filled in and the form is signed, you have two main options:
- Give the signed form to your Knights of Columbus field agent, who forwards it to the Supreme Office. This is the most common route and lets the agent flag any errors before it ships.
- Mail the form to Knights of Columbus, 1 Columbus Plaza, New Haven, CT 06510. Certified mail or a tracked shipping method gives you proof of delivery.6Knights of Columbus. Contact Us
Keep a photocopy or scan of the signed form for your own records either way. If the original is lost in transit, having a copy speeds up the fix.
What Happens After You Submit
The Supreme Office reviews the form for completeness and updates your policy records. If something is missing or unclear, such as a blank percentage or an illegible Social Security number, the office will contact you before finalizing the change. Once it’s processed, you should receive a confirmation letter or an updated policy endorsement. Verify the update by checking the beneficiary section of your online member account, or by reviewing your next annual statement, and confirm the names and percentages match what you submitted.
Why the Designation Overrides Your Will
The beneficiary named on your Knights of Columbus policy controls the proceeds, not your will. If your will leaves everything to your children but the policy still names an ex-spouse, the ex-spouse gets the insurance money. The designation is a contract with the insurer and operates independently of your estate plan.
That’s why keeping the form current after a marriage, divorce, birth, or death in the family matters so much. A useful habit: any time you update your will, pull out your beneficiary designations and read them at the same time. A five-minute check prevents a mismatch that your family would otherwise have to sort out in court.