312 Mass. 147 | Mass. | 1942
By this bill, as amended, the plaintiff seeks to establish either a trust or an equitable lien against the proceeds of a policy of insurance upon the life of William H. Fielding, deceased. The defendant was Fielding’s second wife, whom he married late in life, and is now his widow. At his death the policy stood payable to her as beneficiary, and she has received the amount of it from the insurance company. The evidence is reported.
William H. Fielding in his lifetime was the principal stockholder and the leading spirit in the plaintiff corporation. Although some stock was held outside Fielding’s family by one or two persons who do not seem to have taken any active part in the affairs of the corporation, it was essentially a family enterprise. Fielding’s two sons and his daughter were employed by the corporation. All were children of his first wife. The policy was originally for $5,000 and was issued in 1926, payable to Fielding’s estate. Shortly afterwards the corporation was substituted as beneficiary. Under the terms of the policy Fielding still retained the right to change the beneficiary. There was evidence that Fielding told his children that he was taking out the policy to protect the business in case anything happened to him. Thereafter the corporation paid the premiums on the policy until 1938. It contends that these payments were made under an agreement between it and Fielding whereby it agreed to pay the premiums in consideration of Fielding making it the beneficiary of the policy and continuing it as such until his death, so that it might then receive the proceeds. The corporation alleges that the premiums paid by it amount to more than the face of the policy. At all events they must have aggregated a substantial sum. Fielding’s first wife died in 1934. He married the defendant in 1936. The second marriage was not welcomed by the children, who however continued to work with their father for the corporation. In 1938 Fielding substituted the defendant as beneficiary of the policy in place of the corporation, without reserving the
It is the contention of the plaintiff that its alleged agreement with Fielding and its payment of the premiums gave it an equitable interest in the policy, and that it is entitled to the proceeds. If such an agreement was made and was faithfully observed by the plaintiff it would acquire an equitable right to the proceeds of the policy which it could enforce against a person subsequently named as beneficiary, unless the latter was a purchaser for value without notice or in some manner acquired an equity superior to that of the plaintiff. Columbian Circle v. Mudra, 298 Ill. 599. Jacobson v. New York Life Ins. Co. 199 Iowa, 770. MacDonald v. Conservative Life Ins. Co. 292 Mich. 182. Cronan v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. 50 R. I. 323. Travelers Ins. Co. v. Gebo, 106 Vt. 155. Williamson v. Williamson Paint Manuf. Co. 113 W. Va. 744. Wellhouse v. United Paper Co. 29 Fed. (2d) 886. Couch on Insurance, § 308. Vance, Insurance, § 147. The same principle finds illustration in Ryan v. Boston Letter Carriers’ Mutual Benefit Association, 222 Mass. 237. As to the nature of the expectant interest of a named beneficiary, see Tyler v. Treasurer & Receiver General, 226 Mass. 306, 308; Kruger v. John Hancock Mutual Life Ins. Co. 298 Mass. 124. See also Kerr v. Crane, 212 Mass. 224. Although by the terms of the policy Fielding had the right as between himself and the insurance company to change the beneficiary, he could contract with the plaintiff not to do so and would then no longer have that right as between himself and the plaintiff. Whether the defendant would be entitled to retain an amount equal to the premiums paid by William H. Fielding after he began paying them in 1938 depends upon facts not fully developed in the present record.
It follows that the main issue of fact in the case as tendered by the pleadings and presented by the evidence was whether the contract asserted by the plaintiff was in truth
There is nothing in the defendant’s argument that a contract such as that upon which the plaintiff’s case is based would violate the statute of wills. Legro v. Kelley, 311 Mass. 674, 676-677.
The policy in question falls within the literal description of the policies to which § 126 refers, since the policy can now be said to have been "made payable to a married woman,” the defendant, although it was originally payable to Fielding’s estate. Undoubtedly the defendant would be protected by § 126 against creditors of her deceased husband, or his trustee in bankruptcy, if he had been adjudged bankrupt, or his administrator as the representative of his creditors or distributees. But it does not follow that the statute was intended to protect a person in the defendant’s position against persons who had acquired equitable rights in the policy itself before she acquired any rights in it. The wording of the original statute (St. 1844, c. 82) tends to show that its purpose was to protect the beneficiary, whether a married woman or not, against the creditors of the person "effecting” the policy. This is the purpose disclosed by the searching examination into the origin of this statute contained in Bailey v. Wood, 202 Mass. 562. The wording of § 125 still confines that section
For the reasons set forth the cause must be heard anew.
Decree reversed with costs to the plaintiff.