Legal Question in Insurance Law in Illinois

Life insurance is a contract between someone who has an insurable interest in the deceased (usually the deceased but can be a third party) and a life insurance company that provides for a monetary payment on death to the beneficiary named in the contract. The beneficiary can be the policy owner, or another party. In this case, it appears based on what you put in your question that your great-aunt had a policy naming your grandmother as beneficiary, but grandmother died so your great-aunt changed the beneficiary to your mother. Then, your great-aunt passed away. So it appears that your great-aunt owned the policy and the most recent beneficiary designation was your mother. The location of the parties is irrelevant but there is the possibility that the insurance contract has a finite claim period after which the insurer must report the unpaid proceeds to the treasurer of the State where the insurance company is located and possibly where the beneficiary (your mother) is located. Contact the insurance company. Your mother will need the policy and a death certificate for your great-aunt, and perhaps other documents the insurance company requires to prove that the claim is now payable and that any applicable death taxes have been taken care of.