Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1873-04-10
Life Insurance in Queer
Cases.

N6SES.
A writer in the Eran1iYeT ftfr-
inishes some information which
may be interesting to persons a.
bout to insure their lives for the
benefit of others, and who do
mot know how to ''fx the thing"
| As Mr. Legality Speaks lis
ten for a moment: A man in
Tennessee insured his life for q
Il very large sum, putting all
his income, beyond support OF
his family, into a policy for the
beneftof his "wife and children"
In course of time the wife died,
and in another course of time
the husband married again, and
| in another course of timc
children were added to the first
flock. When the father died,
the children Of the first wife,
who had grown to manhood and
womanhood, claimed, and Ie-
gally received, the whole face
of the policy, leaving the Sec
.ond wife and her children alb
solutely penniless. The hus-
band supposed all the while that
he was providing for his wife
and children, but he was greatly
mistaken. Now, had he known
of that provision, which is the
same i'll every State, he could
not haze transferred that policy
to benefit his wife and childen.
1t was a vested fund for the first
children, absolutely irrevocable,
and they could have compelled
the father, if able, to keep up
the policy.
Take another case: A man
insures his life for the benefit OF
his wife and child, which ac-
cordingtolaw, cannotbe touched
by his creditors. His child
dies, and then his wife, and ne,
being her legal heir, inherits
the policy. He keeps up the
policy for the benefit, as he sup
poses, of his second wife and
children, but at his death, if in
solvent, that policy will go in
to the settlement of his estate.
He inherited it from his first
wife.
Again: A policy is taken
out for a wife who dies, or runs
away, followed by a divorce
The widower, fOrsaken man,
again, and then dies.
Neither the second wife nor her
children can have a cent of the
policy; it will go to the legal
heirs of his first wife, if dead,
or if living with another man,
to ber just as if the marriage
bond had remained untaiEted
with martial mfdelity. And
the poor man cannot transfer
that policy.
And once more: A policy
given for wife is sometimes,
with her consent, put into the
hands of her husbands credi-
tor fol- security, who keeps ths
premium, supposing the amount
will theirs at his death, if he
cannot pay the debt. They can
claim not a cent more than the
which they pay for prem
ium with the usual interest OH
that sum. The wife's consent
goes for nothing.
This is that sublime thing
called LEX in this country. a
man may let his policy run out,
but he cannot change it when
given for others.
The New York Times, in q
long article commenting on the
immense business done by life
companies, the little
some of them afford
the insured, and the need OF
greater economy intheir manage
ment, says:
To illustrate this great re-
sponsibility, it is necessary on
ly TO say, at the end Of 1871
there were in force in the Uni
ted States over 100000 life pol
icies, guaranteeing more than
S2,O00,000,000. This vast total
has, during the last year, been
increased, and it is safe
to say that there are to-day a
million Of polices in force,
guaranteeing or assuming to
guarantee, over two and a half
thousand millions of dollars.
Every one who is familiar
with the life assurance business
in New I York knows hatshrewd
men, holding official positions
in companies, made great Tor
tunes out of their places within
the last few years. Even the
life assurance agents frequently
makes fortunes out Of their
business of importantly. In