sole beneficiary

Meanings

1. 1nouncountablelawfinance

   The single person or organization named to receive all of an estate, policy payout, or trust.

   Grammar: Countable and usually used with 'the' or a possessive: 'She is the sole beneficiary of the will.'

   Patterns

   • be the sole beneficiary of something
   • name someone as sole beneficiary
   • make someone the sole beneficiary

   After her husband died, she became the sole beneficiary of his life insurance policy.

   The will named his brother as sole beneficiary, so the other relatives received nothing.

   You can change the policy so that your daughter is the sole beneficiary.

2. 2nouncountablefigurative

   The one person who gains all the advantage from an event or situation.

   Grammar: Used figuratively in general writing, often followed by 'of': 'the sole beneficiary of the reforms'.

   Patterns

   • the sole beneficiary of something
   • be the sole beneficiary of a change

   Small businesses were the sole beneficiaries of the new tax rule.

   In practice, the richest families were the sole beneficiaries of the policy.

Word forms

Common combinations

name someone as sole beneficiary

He named his niece as sole beneficiary in his will.

the sole beneficiary of a will

As the sole beneficiary of the will, she inherited the house.

the sole beneficiary of a life insurance policy

The bank asked who was the sole beneficiary of the life insurance policy.

become the sole beneficiary

After the divorce, he became the sole beneficiary of the trust.

designate someone as sole beneficiary

You may designate your spouse as sole beneficiary.

Synonyms and how they differ

sole heir

More common for inheriting property under a will; 'sole beneficiary' is broader and also covers insurance and pension payouts.

only beneficiary

Plain-English equivalent; 'sole' sounds more formal and legal.

Opposites

Word family

beneficiary noun

A person who receives money or property from a will, trust, or policy.

benefit verb

To gain an advantage from something.

beneficial adjective

Having a good or helpful effect.

Commonly confused: sole beneficiary or sole executor? sole beneficiary or sole proprietor?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “sole beneficiary”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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