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My understanding is that beneficiary trumps a will, and definitely trumps the default when there is no will.

What would be the point of a beneficiary if it gets ignored even without a will?

I think beneficiary trumps everything. But we are talking about what you could do with the money if you were (undeserving) beneficiary. Giving it back to the dead person (precisely donating it to their estate) is the right thing to do although probably imperfect because donations are often taxed.

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