Life Insurance

[Phinoy2]

I had a non-resident alien brother-in-law who had worked in Chicago for about seven years and who died late last year. For his life insurance, he had designated his two minor daughters (ages 12 and 14) as his beneficiaries.He was married but declared single/divorced with two kids. His spouse and his children who are non-US citizen live overseas. The insurance company stated that the money will be placed in a trust fund until the kids reach age 18.
Questions: 1.Since the insured was the sole breadwinner and there is no other source of income; is there any legal way for the family to go through to get the money now? 2. If there is no legal way except to wait three, four years; what papers/documents must the family have/possess to ensure that they do get the money when the time comes?

 

[ALawyer]

Only a court order releasing funds for the immediate benefit of the kids will get the insurance company to release the funds earlier, as the money belongs to the kids, and they can sue the company if it is paid out to anyone else.