Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Ohio

Re: Collecting Interest from a life insurance policy on behalf of my child

It's your son's money right now. There must be a court process in Ohio, as their is in California, to get that money put into a locked account(court holds the key until the child turns 18) and the locked account collects the interest adding it to the principle. Then if there are 'needs' (the child needs something like braces, a car to go to school, etc.) the court will permit the money (some portion) to be used for that purpose. As soon as the insurance company is given a court order they'll write the check. A place to start would be the Public Administrator of the county in which your husband or the child's father was killed. This public office does probates (guardianships, conservatorships, etc.) for the folks that die without anyone being eligible, or willing to act as the administrator of their estate. I ran for this office twice so that's why I thought of it. Hopefully some of the other attorneys that will answer this question will give you some additional helpful information.

Re: Collecting Interest from a life insurance policy on behalf of my child

Unless the insurance policy was left to a "custodian" for your son, you will probably have to establish a guardianship of your son's assets to get the policy. This would probably be done in the state where your son lives, but check with the life insurance company first to see what they require.

Re: Collecting Interest from a life insurance policy on behalf of my child

Start with the insurance company first. Find out if they will let you set up a custodian account for your son. Most likely they will require a guardianship from the county where your son resides. It will be up to the court to see how much they will permit to be used. In Ohio I have run up against the situation where they don't permit much to be used because you as the child's parent have a legal obligation to support your child. They looked at how much was coming from social security and the parent's earning potential before using any of the funds from the insurance policy.