If you live in a community property state within the U.S., the beneficiary on a life policy is your spouse, unless that person gives written permission for someone else to be the beneficiary. In the huge majority of cases, people name their spouse, their child, another family member, a friend or business partner as a policy beneficiary. Remember that it is 100 percent legal to name an organization as a beneficiary. People often name a non-profit or charitable organization as the primary beneficiary on a policy. It’s also common practice for policy holders to name multiple beneficiaries. Parents often name several children, other family members, and charitable entities as beneficiaries on very large life policies. While it’s possible to name multiple beneficiaries on any life policy, there is a requirement that policy holders name at least one beneficiary on any insurance policy