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Show COURT DECISION ON WAR RISK INSURANCE Wurk risk Insurance, that Is, term or contract Insurance, Issued by tho government as a war time measure under the provisions of tho war risk act, is payable to tho beneficiary designated des-ignated by the Insured, but should til 1b beneficiary die the installments of insurance becoming payable after his death shall bo distributed In like manner as the estate of tho Insured, descending to tho soldier's heirs and not to the heirs of the beneficiary no matter whether a will may have been executed by that beneficiary to tho contrary. This la the substance of the decision deci-sion handed down by Kedrnl Judge Whltmer In tho case of Cassarello s. fulled States recently tried In the district court of tho United Stntes. Scranton. Pennsylvania. Lawrence Sleglo, while In the service ser-vice In tho United States ami), applied ap-plied for $10,000 insurance, designating desig-nating as beneficiary "stepbrothor Patsy Gllette." The Insured died October 20, 1918 A question as to tho Identity of the benficlary aiose, he having been known as PatRy Gittl, Patrick Gillette Gillet-te Patrick Chllant and other variations varia-tions of tho original Italian name. Before It had been established that tho designated benficlary was a full brother of tho Insured soldier, the beneficiary died. He left a will naming Savlno Caccarollo as executor execut-or of his estate, empowered to collect col-lect tho war risk Insurance Installments Install-ments which had acciued, as well as thoso which should become due and to transmit these future Installments to the beneficiary's wlfo and daughter. daugh-ter. To erieel this the executor brouglit action against tho United tSates. Aa to the Installments which had accrued prior to the beneficiary's death and remaining unpaid at that time, there was no dispute. They passed according to the beneficiary's will as they wcri already duo beneficiary's ben-eficiary's estate. The contest had to do with tho Installemnts not yet payable when tho beneficiary died and It was claimed by tho executor that theso also were a part of the beneficiary's estate. The court, however, decided and thereby uphld an opinion of gene-eral gene-eral counsel of the bureau of war risk Insurance, that a beneficiary under un-der tho war risk act Is entitled to Insurance Installments only so long as ho lives and that thereafter the Insurance Installments must be distributed dis-tributed to thoso porsons surviving tlu soldier who would be entitled to the soldier's estato under tho laws of Intestacy of tho soldier's state of res-ldnco. |