Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 7.djvu/623

 BBOCKHAUS Vi EBMMA. 611 �therefor thrte other paid-up policies,— one' for $1,690, dated October.21, 1876, and payable In 1878 to Aima Brockhaus; one for ^1,170, dated October 25, 1876, and payable in 1883 to Laura Brockhaus;. and one for $990, dated AprU 3, 1877, and payable in 1888 to Clara Brockhaus. It; vas alleged that all of these policies, when issued, wereheld by the com- plainant, and were still in his possession, with the exception of' the policy in favor of Aima, which matured in 1878. ? �It appeared further that on the thirty-flrst day of May, 1878, and before any of the new policies matured, for the purpose of avoiding, as it was alleged, any possible misunderstanding as to the eventual disposition of the proceeds of the policies, the agreement between the complainaat and his f amily heretof ore spokeu of was reduced to writing, and was executed by th« complainaut and his said three children, and was then delivered to the defendant Franziska Brockhaus, and has since been held by hev. The material recitals of that agreement are as follows : ■ ; ■ : �"The said party of the flrst part (Theodore W. Brbckhaus) having at different times had his life insured for the beneflt of the parties of the second part, (Aima, Clara, and Laura Brockhaus;) and, whereas, some of the parties of the second part would, in case of the death of the party of the flrst part, be entitled to recoive on account of such ihsurance more than others ; and, whereas, the party of the flrst part is desirous nf equal- izing the several amounts coming to the parties of the second part by having the same divided equally among them, so that one should not have preference over the other ; and, whereas, the said party. of the flrst part is desirous, and so declares it to be his intention by the terms of this agreement, that his beloved wife, Franziska Brockhaus, shall take and recoive the severa.1 sums of money as the same shall become due and pay- able to the said parties of the second part, and hold the same, and pay it over to the several parties of the second part as she, in her best judg^ ment, shall deem it advisable to do : Theref ore, it is mutually understood and agreed, by and between the parties hereto, that the wife of the said party of the flrst part, and the mother of the parties of the second part, Franziska Brockhaus, shall take the several sums of money that the said parties of the second part may be entitled to receive from the several Insurance companieshereinaftermentioned, and invest the same ordivide it between the parties of the second part as she, in her best judgment, shall deem it advisable to do ; and to that end, and for that purpose, the said parties ot the second part hereby release all claims upon said several sums of money, and authorize the said Franziska Brockhaus, in their names or otherwise, to receipt for, pay over, and invest all said several sums of money as hereinbefore mentioned." �The amounts to thereafter become due upon the several policies, and the persons to whom the same would become payable, were recited in the agreement, which bore the signatures and seals of the respective parties thereto. �It was further alleged in the bill that this agreement has, since its exe- cution, remained in full force and effect, and been continuously acted upon in the control and disposition of the trust fund thereby created, and that the same has not been repudiated by either of the parties thereto except by Aima Kemna, who married on the seventh day of January, 1879. �The further facts disclosed in the bill were that when the paid-up pol- icy for $1,690, to Aima, matured, the Insurance coriipany insisted that as she was a minor a guardian should be appointed for her, and thereupon ��� �