I sure hope you get an attorney to stop your uncle from running off with the insurance money altogether. This matter will definitely have to go through probate (which takes forever by the way). Who is going to hire the probate attorney, you or your uncle? Does your mother's will mention anything about the insurance money going to you? If it does not state this explicitly in her will you may have yourself quite a pickle of a situation trying to get your uncle to release the money to you. Does it state anywhere on the insurance policy anything about you? Probably not. It's probably just a "my mother told her brother to give me the money when she dies", etc. I don't forsee him just willingly handing it over since he gleefully stripped the home of everything. This is definitely going to prove interesting. Get the phone book out now and start calling a good attorney before your uncle blows through all the insurance money.