Testamenary trust and how to list the trust on beneficiary forms

Good question.  You can name the trust in your Wills (Smith Family Trust, for example) and not fund it, and then refer to that name, adding the detail that is it a testamentary trust (trust created by a Will).  For investment assets, life insurance, etc. you can either name the trust as a contingent beneficiary or name your estate and it will be directed to the trust.  Naming the trust directly avoids the assets having to go through the Will and hence the probate process. Naming a trust as a beneficiary of retirement funds is a bit more complicated.  Because a trust is not a person, there is no lifetime over which benefits will be paid.  As a result, the benefits are paid to the trust in full over five years.  This is true for naming estates as beneficiaries of retirement funds as well.  There are two better options:  have an attorney write the trust so that it is a "see-through trust" that conforms with certain IRS regulations that allow it to collect and pay retirement benefits over a trust beneficiary's lifetime, or name your daughter as the contingent beneficiary for retirement funds.  Both options allow your daughter's lifetime to be used to maximize the tax benefits of the retirement fund, although only paying them to a trust can prevent your daughter from withdrawing retirement funds early (if you include such restrictions in the trust language.)