Can other relatives not in the immediate family change the beneficiary of a life insurance policy?

No, only the owner (generally the insured) of the insurance policy can make changes! This is not to say the he/she can not make the distant reletives beneficiaries, but the distant reletives can not change a thing, only the owner can. Where this is a legal binding contract, the named beneficiaries will be up-held if this was challenged in court. 4lifeguild