Blethen

Plaintiff brought this action to recover part of the proceeds of a life insurance policy upon the ground that the same constituted community property.

Briefly stated, the facts of the ease set forth in the record, are these: In 1900, George W. A. Blethen and plaintiff in termarried. Subsequent thereto, in December, 1914, the appellant Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Company of California, a corporation, issued to Blethen two policies of life insurance in the sum of $4,000, respectively. One of these policies was permitted to lapse. In the other policy Blethen’s sister, Alice M. Scott, was designated as beneficiary, apparently for the purpose of securing a sum of money loaned to Blethen. This is the policy involved in controversy here. Under a power reserved in this policy to change the beneficiary, Blethen substituted his wife for the sister as beneficiary in February, 1918. The Blethens, however, separated in September, 1919, and subsequent thereto, in October, 1920, in contemplation of divorce proceedings to be prosecuted by the wife, a property settlement was entered into between the husband and the wife. This settlement provided, among other things, that Blethen’s future…