Life insurance proceeds according to the will.?

In my Grandma's will it says life insurance proceeds go to a trust payable to her grandchildren when they turn 25. The person she intended to be the trustee was the primary and the proceeds were paid out to him yet he did not put the money in the trust. My Grandma made him the benificiary with the understanding that he would put it in the trust. That way it wouldn't pass through probate. What legal recourse do we have?

Life insurance with cash value don't pay out cash value when you die! They say its a good way to build savings! How is that so if you lose it all and it doesn't go to anyone when you die? People say you can borrow it. Why do I want to borrow my own money that I paid for? Cash value = scams!

The life insurance money goes to the beneficiary stated in the policy. If she wants the money to go into the trust, it goes into the trust. Life insurance does not go into probate ever. It's a legal contract between your grandmother and the company. She states who it will go to. If she wants it to go into the trust, she must state so with the insurance company. I used to be an insurance agent.

Not sure if you've got any legal recourse. It's my understanding that any life insurance is payable to whoever is named as the policy's beneficiary. If the beneficiary is deceased, then policy payout goes into the estate.
It'd sure be worth it to talk to a lawyer...but I suspect that you'd have to be able to PROVE that the beneficiary had promised your Grandmother that he'd set up the trust as her will states.
Hope you can get it worked out.

This is potentially problematic.
First, as the prior answers correctly state, the policy/contract is between your granny and the insurance co. What she should have done is to establish trusts for each of the grandchildren, then designated the trusts as beneficiaries.
Presuming you have a copy of her valid written will, your best move will be to contact an attorney for the specific purpose of writing what's called a demand letter. This should cost you no more than a couple hundred $$. Demand they take the action set forth in the will, or you will take other steps. That should get the ball rolling.
If not, then it's lawsuit time. This could potentially be a criminal action as well - fraud, conversion. Your state law dictates.
Good luck.

I don't think you have any recourse. As I read your question, your Granny made the intended Trustee the primary beneficiary on the insurance policy, with the result that the proceeds were paid to him in his own name. She also had an "understanding" with him that these proceeds were to fund a trust for the benefit of her grandchildren. Even if a trust was established by her will, the intended Trustee had no legal duty to transfer funds that were now legally his to that trust. In fact, if he had, he would owe a gift tax on it. What your Granny should have done (did she have a lawyer?) was to set up an "unfunded" trust in her will, and then named that trust as the beneficiary of the insurance policy. This is done all the time. If you have any recourse, it is against the lawyer who drew her will. He should have known what the effect of her will would be. His defense may be that she did not set up the insurance policy the way he directed. Hope this helps.

Your Grandmother had bad advice. As long as there is a living named beneficiary when the insured dies, it will bypass probate and is not affected by the Will.

The only time life insurance proceeds are affected by probate and Wills is if the estate is the beneficiary or if the named beneficiary has died prior to the insured.