What's the difference between a recipient and a beneficiary?

Created by IronClad Family Support, Modified on Tue, Jul 28 at 11:47 AM by IronClad Family Support


A recipient is someone who receives access to a vault's contents through IronClad Family. A beneficiary is someone who inherits an asset through a legal instrument — the name on a bank account, insurance policy, or will.

They're separate, and they often don't match. Your brother might be the recipient who receives your estate vault, while your children are the beneficiaries of the accounts inside it. One is about access to information; the other is about who legally inherits.

This matters because a beneficiary named on an account legally overrides your will — see Beneficiary Designations vs. Your Will.

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