Updated Beneficiary never rcvd

Good evening, second time posting in two days. Forgive me if I repeat myself.

Mother passed 3 weeks ago with a $100,000 life insurance policy. All paperwork I had stated that would be divided up into 1/4’s between myself, my brother, and our 2 children.

Funeral home processed the paperwork, so they took their $10k off the top.

Yesterday, I got an email stating “you are not listed as a beneficiary”. I start asking around, everyone else rcvd $30,000 checks instead of the $22,500 they were expecting.

I am the executor of her estate, so still waiting on the estate attorney to get that all filed and completed through the state/county. I am in her will to receive half the property value, whenever the eventual sale can progress. She left personal property to me, which is a gold coin or two. Mostly junk. Cars I can’t even sell yet until named executor.

Digging through her life insurance paperwork, I see where she removed me around 2019 after a little personal spat.

Then I find an updated beneficiary form changing it back to the original 1/4. It is completed, signed, and dated May 2021. The newest life insurance documents available.

There are handwritten notes saying when she mailed it, processing time, even a note saying Add ____(my name).

I provided all this to the life insurance company, and they say sorry, since we didn’t get it, it doesn’t matter.

It is my understanding (Google) life insurance can’t be changed after death unless contested through the courts. This would require me to sue my brother and niece (who live 4 hours away out of state) and my son (who I don’t want to take money from necessarily). Is that correct?

The current estate attorney has minimal staff and his only paralegal quit. So getting named executor is really taking a long time.

I am looking to call another attorney about these documents I have, showing her wishes for me to be added back to the life insurance in 2021. Any helpful tips on what I can say, or ways to go about it? Anything I am missing?

All help is appreciated. I am the one doing all the work at the house, keeping lights on there, doing the estate sale, ALL the work. Everyone else got 30k and I have nothing. I def feel broken down and defeated at this point. All input is welcomed.