Minor children as beneficiaries

You may not want to choose your children as your beneficiaries if they are still minors. Under the current law, children under the age of 18 can’t collect insurance benefits directly, even if they’re the rightful heirs. If you die and your children are the beneficiaries, the proceeds can only go to them in a trust fund, which an adult must manage. If you don’t select this adult (perhaps a lawyer or an accountant, or an organization such as a bank), the probate court selects someone or some organization to oversee the money. When your children reach the age of maturity, usually 18 years old, the funds automatically go to them.
Before that time, the trust fund administrator controls how the funds are invested and spent.