N.C. Gen. Stat. § 36C-4-401-1 — NC Code / Chapter 36C / Section 36C-4-401-1
§ 36C-4-401.1. Interest of trustee as beneficiary of life insurance or other death benefit sufficient to support inter vivos or testamentary trust
Status: in_force

(a) The interest of a trustee as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy is a sufficient property interest or res to support the creation of an inter vivos or testamentary trust notwithstanding the fact that the insured or any other person or persons reserves or has the right to exercise any one or more of the following rights or powers:

(1) To change the beneficiary;

(2) To surrender the policy and receive the cash surrender value;

(3) To borrow from the insurance company issuing the policy or elsewhere using the policy as collateral security;

(4) To assign the policy; or

(5) To exercise any other right in connection with the policy commonly known as an incident of ownership of that policy.

The term “ life insurance policy ” includes life, annuity, and endowment contracts, or any variation or combination of those contracts, and any agreement entered into by an insurance company in connection with life, annuity, or endowments contracts.

(b) The interest of a trustee as the beneficiary of a death benefit under an employee benefit plan or group life insurance policy is a sufficient property interest or res to support the creation of an inter vivos or testamentary trust notwithstanding the fact that the insured, employer, insurer or administrator of the plan reserves or has the right to revoke or otherwise defeat the designation or assignment or to exercise any one or more of the rights or powers incident to employee benefit plans or group life insurance policies.

The term “ employee benefit plan ” includes pension, retirement, death benefit, deferred compensation, employment, agency, retirement annuity, stock bonus, profit-sharing or employees' savings contracts, plans, systems or trusts; and trusts, securities or accounts established or held under the federal Self-Employed Individuals Tax Retirement Act of 1962, the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, or similar legislation. The term “ group life insurance policy ” includes group life, industrial life, accident, and health insurance policies having death benefits.

(c) A testator having the right to designate the beneficiary under a life insurance policy, employee benefit plan, or group life insurance policy described in subsection (a) or (b) of this section may designate as that beneficiary a trustee named or to be named in the testator's will whether or not the will is in existence at the time of the designation. The proceeds received by the trustee shall be held and disposed of as part of the trust estate under the terms of the will as they exist at the death of the testator. If no trustee makes claim to the proceeds within six months after the death of the testator, payments shall be made to the personal representative of the estate of the testator unless it is otherwise provided by an alternative designation or by the policy or plan. The proceeds received by the trustee is not subject to claims against the estate of the testator to estate or inheritance taxes to any greater extent than if the proceeds were payable directly to the beneficiary or beneficiaries named in the trust. The proceeds may be commingled with any other assets that may properly become part of the trust, but the proceeds shall not become part of the testator's estate for purposes of trust administration unless the will expressly so provides.