Who has to file a claim on a life insurance of a person if the beneficiary is a minor? How?

You would need to set up a guardianship of your daughter for her estate so that the insurance company will pay it. If a beneficiary is a minor, they cannot inherit the money outright, it must be held for them until they reach majority. If you are her legal guardian, you can be appointed guardian of her estate and look over the money for her until she reaches 18.

Have your daughter speak to the life insurance company. They will probably want a guardian ad litem appointed by the court for your daughter with the money kept in trust until she reaches the age of 18. Since she does not live with you, the court will likely appoint the parent she does live with as guardian.

The minor has the only claim on the proceeds of the life insurance policy. So throw away that brochure for the Mercedes, Dad, you don't get to steal your kid's money and blow it. The insurance company will pay the proceeds to the probate court which will turn it over to her when she reaches 18.

It probably should be the custodial parent. Contact the insurance company (or have the custodial parent contact the insurance company) regarding how.

Usually, a parent or guardian notifies the insurance company, obtains the funds on behalf of the minor, then sets up a trust for the minor and puts the assets in it. Check your mother's will to see if she designated anyone to be the trustee. If not, you should be able to do this on your own. Unless otherwise indicated, the funds may be used for any purpose that the trustee deems reasonable: school expenses, college, trips associated with education (such as a marching band going to a bowl game to perform or a semester abroad), a vehicle, etc. Note that the trustee is going to be held legally responsible for making sure that the funds aren't invested in anything too risky and that the distributions do not benefit the trustee. When your daughter reaches the age of majority, the trust assets are turned over to her unless some provision is made to delay the distribution until she reaches a certain age. This is done to prevent a young adult from squandering the money irresponsibly as soon as she gets her hands on it.

Unless the amount is very small (under $10,000), then a guardian may need to be appointed to manage the minor's estate. Talk to a probate attorney that does minor's guardianships.