Life Insurance and Trustee

[coppertop]

My sister-in-law passed away, intestate, with an insurance policy. leaving her 4 year old son as the sole beneficiary. The trustee for this policy is her sister. My brother and his wife were in the middle of a divorce that was not finalized at the time of her death. The sister purchased a house using funds from the insurance for my nephew to live in, thereby, providing a home for my brother. The inlaws verbally agreed that my brother pay $400 to be placed into the trust account for my nephew's future. As one can imagine the transition has been anything but smooth. Little issues turned into graver ones! Now the inlaws want to sell the house. This will force the dad to provide housing while the nephew receives money, monthly, to care for him.

Can the house be resold if it was purchased using funds from the trust account? What are the rights of dad and son if the letter, stating the deceased mother's intentions, was not registered? What rights do my brother have in seeing all documents?

It can be sold but the father or any interested party can go to court if they feel the proposed action is not in the best interest of the boy or does not comport with the trust goals etc.

[coppertop]

Thank you! Does that mean that any interested person can get a court order to impede or stop the process without the presence of legal counsel?

If the house is sold (the sisters have the legal title),does the father have access to the funds from the trust to buy a home for the boy if he is the legal guardian?

A new piece of evidence has come into play, the life insurance policies had details blacked out. A copy of this was delivered to the father and he was
told that all was in trust with the deceased's sisters with the boy as the sole beneficiary. Does the father have a right to see all original documents? Can the father get a copy from the insurance company? What legal responsibility does the insurance company have to ensure legal desigination of proceeds?

Normally you would need a court hearing and legal counsel usually has to be involved; though some folks do try to do it alone.

If your income is very low, legal aid may help if they see good evidence of fraud.