How to find out if a life insurance policy was pain out

My mother in law passed away a little over 2 years ago. We thought she may have a life insurance policy but when the family was called in we were unable to get to her before she passed. We lived about 4 hours away and when we did get to her apartment, my husband's aunt had it emptied before we got there. She has since kept all her belongings or sold them off but that is another story. My husband was approached earlier today and was told that his mother HAD a life insurance policy and his aunt cashed it in even though he was the sole beneficiary. He was her only child. Is there anyway to find out if she actually did this? This person said that with the money she paid off her home and bought a new truck. Upon some nosey research I have found that she has bought a new truck but I was unable to find out about the house mortgage. The initial information that was relayed to my husband was from a person that had an intimite relationship with my mother in law with no reason to lie. Any help would be greatly appreciated.