Cade v. Head Camp, Pacific Jurisdiction, Woodmen of World

Citations

• 27 Wash. 218
• 67 P. 603
• 1902 Wash. LEXIS 381

Syllabus

<p>BENEFIT SOCIETIES' — CHANGE OF BENEFICIARY-VESTED INTERESTS.</p> <p>The fact that a member of a benefit society procures a policy of insurance on bis life in which bis wife is named as beneficiary, and gives her the policy with intent that it shall be hers, paying the dues thereon with community funds, would not give the wife such a vested interest therein as to deprive the husband of the power of substituting another beneficiary.</p> <p>SAME-FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH BY-LAWS-FRAUD UPON BENEFICIARY.</p> <p>The by-law of a benefit society requiring the insured to surrender bis certificate of insurance upon making a change in the beneficiary, or make affidavit to its loss, in order to procure a new certificate, is a regulation for the protection of the society, and the fact that a husband who bad given a benefit certificate to his wife afterwards, without her knowledge, made affidavit to the society of the loss of the certificate, and had a new one issued with a substituted beneficiary, would not establish fraud against the wife, inasmuch as the substitution of beneficiapies could have been made against her consent.</p> <p>SAME-CONTRACT BETWEEN INSURED AND BENEFICIARY-EFFECT OF GIFT 03? CERTIFICATE.</p> <p>The fact that a husband gave his wife a benefit certificate in which she was named as beneficiary, with the intent that it should be hers absolutely, would not bring the case within the rule that where contracts are made between the insured and the beneficiary the insured has’ no right to substitute a new beneficiary, since such intent does not amount to a contract and falls within the same rule as that whereby a testator is permitted to change devisees in his will.</p> <p>PLEADING-GENERAL AVERMENT OF FRAUD-SUFFICIENCY.</p> <p>A complaint which alleges fraud by mere general averment, without setting forth any of the facts upon which the averment is predicated is not definite enough to permit the introduction of proof.</p>