Beneficiaries

Introduction

The Beneficiaries page is where you record who inherits from a client and in what share. Entries here capture the basics DNA needs for estate planning. They also feed the needs analysis when the report builder looks at how a client's wishes will play out.

This page covers what the Beneficiaries screen shows, how to add and edit entries, and how allocation percentages work.

What the page shows

The Beneficiaries page is a single scrolling layout with a table of every beneficiary on the client file.

• Page header at the top with Add Beneficiary and Edit Allocation buttons.

• Filter row with a search box and a type dropdown for Primary, Contingent, or All.

• Beneficiary table with columns for Name, Type, Relationship, Allocation percentage, and a row-level menu.

• Empty state reading No beneficiaries have been added yet when the client has nothing on file.

Adding a beneficiary

Click Add Beneficiary to open the beneficiary form. DNA asks you to choose between two kinds of beneficiary:

• Person: an individual named in the client's estate plans. Fields include first and last name, middle name, relationship, date of birth, and an optional link to another client in your book.

• Entity: an organization, trust, charity, or other non-person. Fields include legal name, relationship, and address.

After picking the kind, you set two more attributes on every beneficiary:

• Role: Primary or Contingent. See the next section.

• Revocability: Revocable or Irrevocable. Irrevocable designations cannot be changed without the beneficiary's consent, so pick this only when the client has a legal reason for it.

Primary vs. Contingent

Every beneficiary has a role. Primary beneficiaries inherit first. Contingent beneficiaries inherit only if no primary beneficiary is alive or available to receive their share.

DNA tracks the two roles as separate pools:

• Primary allocations must sum to exactly 100%.

• Contingent allocations, if you use them, must also sum to exactly 100%.

• Neither pool affects the other.

Allocations by percentage

Each beneficiary's share is recorded as a percentage. The sum of all primary shares must add up to 100%, and the sum of all contingent shares must also add up to 100%. If either total is off, DNA shows you the difference so you can correct it before saving:

• Total exceeds 100% by X%: you have allocated too much. Reduce one or more shares.

• Total is X% short of 100%: you have allocated too little. Increase one or more shares, or add another beneficiary.

Editing allocations in bulk

Use Edit Allocation in the top right to switch the table into an allocation editor. Every beneficiary's share becomes editable inline, with a running total so you can see when the 100% constraint is met. Click Save to commit, or Discard to back out without changing anything.

Deleting beneficiaries

Use the row-level menu on any row to delete a beneficiary. One rule to keep in mind: you cannot delete the last primary beneficiary if any contingent beneficiaries exist on the client. Remove the contingent beneficiaries first, or add another primary beneficiary, and then retry.

Group clients

For group clients (couples, partnerships, households), beneficiaries are attached to the group as a whole, not to an individual member. Every member shares the same list. If your setup needs member-specific beneficiaries, record the distinction in the notes field on each entry.

Where beneficiary data flows

DNA uses beneficiary entries in two places outside of this page:

• Asset-level allocations: on an asset's detail page, you can split the asset's inheritance between specific beneficiaries. The allocations on that page are separate from the client-level allocations you set here.

• Needs analysis: the report builder reads primary and contingent designations when it looks at estate planning and how a client's wishes will play out.