United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

Cohn v. Malone, 248 U.S. 450 (1919)

Cohn v. Malone

No. 96

Argued December 18, 1918

Decided January 13, 1919

248 U.S. 450

Syllabus

The cash surrender value of a life insurance policy which is payable to the executors, administrators, or assigns of the insured, or payable to specified persons with a right in the insured to change the beneficiaries, is assets subject to distribution under the Bankruptcy Act. Cohen v. Samuels, 245 U. S. 50.

Section 2498 of the Georgia Code, 1910, providing that an insured may assign his life insurance by directing payment to his personal representative, or to his widow, or to his children, or to his assignee, and that no other person can defeat such direction when assented to

Page 248 U. S. 451

by the insurer, does not operate to withdraw the cash surrender value from his estate in bankruptcy when the assignment was made to his wife expressly subject to his right to change beneficiaries or surrender the policy at any time.

236 F.8d 2 affirmed.

The case is stated in the opinion.