Cousin died without a will & has minor child, no mother; How can child be protected?

Hire an attorney to represent the interests of the child. If there are no papers declaring who will be the guardian of the child, then Texas Probate Code Section 676 will govern. If the child has no living mother and father, then the child's grandparents are entitled to be guardian of both the person and the estate. Otherwise, his siblings can fight for guardianship. In this matter, if there is a concern that people are fighting for custody of the child solely for the use of the life insurance proceeds, then you can initiate a guardianship proceeding requesting that the court appoint a Guardian of the Estate to handle the proceeds. An 867 Management Trust would likely be the best in this situation. This would be a trust that holds the life insurance proceeds and is managed by a bank. The siblings would not be able to touch the income, and the child would receive the remaining balance later in life. The life insurance policy is meant to be for the kid, and if the siblings were intending to waste the child's inheritance, then the court needs to know.