If you own the life insurance policy that is insuring your life. the person who gets your life insurance death benefit upon your death is the person you name as beneficiary on your life insurance policy.

If someone else is the owner of the life insurance policy insuring your life, the owner gets to choose the beneficiary, although as the insured person, you may have a say in choosing the beneficiary.

However, if the beneficiary is responsible for your death, the secondary beneficiary would receive the death benefit from your life insurance policy. A beneficiary cannot receive a death benefit from a life insurance policy if found to be responsible for the death of the insured person; such as, if the beneficiary were found guilty of murdering the insured person.