New York Court of Appeals
Herkimer v. Rice
June 5, 186327 N.Y. 163
Summary
The Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court's judgment, holding that an administrator of an insolvent estate possesses an insurable interest in the decedent's buildings sufficient to insure them for the benefit of creditors, and that the insurance contracts were made by the administrator, not the heirs. Insurance proceeds are to be applied to the estate's debts, with any surplus held in trust for the heirs.