Longbottom v. Emery

Citations

• 261 Pa. 163
• 104 A. 561
• 1918 Pa. LEXIS 704

Syllabus

<p>Insurance — Life insurance — Assignment — Husband and wife— Assignment of policy to wife — Bankruptcy—Creditors—Burden of proof — Presumptions—Trustee—Cash surrender value of policy— Recovery.</p> <p>1. The payment of premiums by the insured does not affect the title of the assignee of the policy.</p> <p>2. A wife claiming property acquired during coverture against her husband’s creditors is required to substantiate her claim by proof sufficient to repel all adverse presumptions, but the law does not require proof of such character as to relieve every doubt but only proof that is clear and satisfactory. A mere doubt will not operate to defeat the wife’s claim.</p> <p>3. In a suit in equity brought by a trustee in bankruptcy against a bankrupt, his wife- and an insurance company, to compel payment to plaintiff of the cash surrender value of a life insurance policy issued by the insurance company to the bankrupt and assigned by him to his wife, it appeared that the policy was issued in March, 1901, to the insured; was assigned June 22, 1901, to his wife; was endorsed back on November 29, 1909, to the executors, administrators and assigns of the insured; and was again endorsed on March 28,1912, to the wife of assured, if living; and if not, to the executors, administrators and assigns of the assured; that the policy contained a provision giving the assured the power at any time to change the beneficiary by filing with the society a written request to' that effect and complying with certain other requirements; that in May, 1901, the wife of the assured had mortgaged certain real estate owned by her for $9,000, which she had loaned to her husband; and that the policy was issued as security for such loan; that it was reassigned to the husband that he might use it as collateral security- and that it was subsequently released and reassigned to the wife. There was nothing to show that, at the time of the first assignment, defendant was insolvent; or that any of his credit