A. The owner of a benefit contract shall have the right at all times to change the beneficiary or beneficiaries in accordance with the laws or rules of the society unless the owner waives this right by specifically requesting in writing that the beneficiary designation be irrevocable. A society may, through its laws or rules, limit the scope of beneficiary designations and shall provide that no revocable beneficiary shall have or obtain any vested interest in the proceeds of any certificate until the certificate has become due and payable in conformity with the provisions of the benefit contract.

Terms Used In Virginia Code 38.2-4117

  • 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
  • Benefit contract: means the agreement for provision of benefits authorized by § 38. See Virginia Code 38.2-4103
  • Certificate: means the document issued as written evidence of the benefit contract. See Virginia Code 38.2-4103
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • in writing: include any representation of words, letters, symbols, numbers, or figures, whether (i) printed or inscribed on a tangible medium or (ii) stored in an electronic or other medium and retrievable in a perceivable form and whether an electronic signature authorized by Chapter 42. See Virginia Code 1-257
  • Laws: means the society's articles of incorporation, constitution and bylaws, however designated. See Virginia Code 38.2-4103
  • Person: means any association, aggregate of individuals, business, company, corporation, individual, joint-stock company, Lloyds type of organization, organization, partnership, receiver, reciprocal or interinsurance exchange, trustee or society. See Virginia Code 38.2-100
  • Personal representative: includes the executor of a will or the administrator of the estate of a decedent, the administrator of such estate with the will annexed, the administrator of such estate unadministered by a former representative, whether there is a will or not, any person who is under the order of a circuit court to take into his possession the estate of a decedent for administration, and every other curator of a decedent's estate, for or against whom suits may be brought for causes of action that accrued to or against the decedent. See Virginia Code 1-234
  • Rules: means all rules, regulations or resolutions adopted by the supreme governing body or board of directors which are intended to have general application to the members of the society. See Virginia Code 38.2-4103
  • Society: means fraternal benefit society, unless otherwise indicated. See Virginia Code 38.2-4103

B. A society may provide for the payment of funeral benefits from the proceeds of a certificate of no more than $2,000 to any person equitably entitled to them because of expenses incurred by the burial of the member.

C. If, at the death of any person insured under a benefit contract, there is no lawful beneficiary to whom the proceeds are payable, the amount of such benefit, except to the extent that funeral benefits may be paid as previously provided, shall be payable to the personal representative of the deceased insured; however, if the owner of the certificate is other than the insured, the proceeds shall be payable to such owner.

Code 1950, §§ 38-284, 38.1-600; 1952, c. 317, § 38.1-638.32; 1968, c. 654; 1972, c. 530; 1986, c. 562.

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