Fidelity Title & Trust Co. v. Graham

Citations

• 262 Pa. 273
• 105 A. 295
• 1918 Pa. LEXIS 638

Syllabus

<p>Declaration of trust — Bevocabiliiy— Consideration — Husband and wife — Insurance money.</p> <p>1. Where a wife makes a declaration of trust whereby she agrees to dispose in a designated manner of the proceeds of certain insurance policies owned by her husband and payable to her upon the death of her husband, the trust, although possibly revocable during the lifetime of the husband, becomes irrevocable upon his death.</p> <p>2. The rule that a contract is voidable as to both parties when voidable as to one, cannot be invoked after that one has fully performed or become definitely liable to perform on his part.</p> <p>3. Where the insured in certain insurance policies, which were payable to his wife upon his death, gave his estate in trust for the benefit of his wife for her life, and suggested in his will that, upon his death, she would pay his debts and funeral expenses from the proceeds of the insurance policies, and pay over the balance to the trustees under the will for the purposes named therein, and the wife endorsed a declaration of trust on the back of the will whereby she declared that she would turn over the proceeds of the policies to the executors and trustees under the will, to be treated by them as part of her husband’s estate, such declaration became irrevocable upon the death of the husband; and in an action by the trustees against the wife to recover the insurance money judgment should have been entered in favor of the plaintiff.</p> <p>4. In such case there was sufficient consideration for the deela,- , ration of trust, where the wife was to have a life interest in the entire estate, including the insurance money.</p>