Who Should Own A Life Insurance Policy? 
There are many different possibilities when considering ownership of life insurance . Parent/Guardian -- if a child is not yet of legal age , a parent or guardian could be an owner of the policy . Self -- the primary insured could also be the owner , and this is quite often the case of most adults . Spouse -- the spouse could be the owner and also the beneficiary of a policy on their spouse . This allows for complete control of the policy , so in the event of something like divorce , the insurance could remain in force without the ex changing beneficiaries . Trust -- there are different types of trusts which could be an owner of a life insurance policy . For example , an ILIT -LRB- irrevocable life insurance trust -RRB- could own a policy for estate settling purposes , so it would n't be altered by anyone while the primary insured is still living . Also , a trust is common for minors . Business -- a business might be the owner of a policy on it 's owners in a Buy/Sell agreement . Business Owner -- the owner may be owner of a Key Man policy . Interested Party -- any other person who might have some sort of insurable interest on someone could be an owner . For example , if a person took a loan from an entity , the entity could have insurance on the borrower , to ensure they get their money back should the borrower pass prematurely . There are many situations in which the ownership of a life insurance policy could differ . Each situation is unique . 