Dickerson v. Midvale Beneficial Ass'n

Citations

• 264 Pa. 415
• 107 A. 778
• 1919 Pa. LEXIS 664

Syllabus

<p>Beneficial associations -— Beneficiaries —■ Designation of beneficiary.</p> <p>1. Where the by-laws of an unincorporated beneficial society provide for payments of death benefits to a beneficiary designated by the member, with nothing to indicate that they are to become a part of the deceased member’s estate, no recovery can be had against the association by an administrator of the deceased claiming for the next of kin, nor by the next of kin directly even if no beneficiary was named, or the designation was fatally defective. Even if the fund were paid to a person not in fact the beneficiary named, the association would not subsequently be liable to the administrator or next of kin of the member.</p> <p>2. Such an unincorporated beneficial society is not an insurance company, and the member and his beneficiary have only such rights as grow out of the rules of the society and the contract between the parties.</p>