In the 1934 U.S. Supreme Court case McCullough v. Smith, the court was tasked with determining whether a widow could claim her deceased husband's insurance policy proceeds as part of his estate or if they should be paid directly to her as a named beneficiary. The couple resided in New York but had moved from Pennsylvania where the policy was issued and still held by an insurer there. The court ruled that under Pennsylvania law, which governed this contract dispute due to its place of issuance, life insurance policies are not considered part of an insured person’s estate unless explicitly stated otherwise in their will or other legal documents; instead, they are payable directly to any named beneficiaries upon death regardless of residency changes after issuance. Therefore, Mrs. McCullough had no right to claim these funds through probate proceedings for Mr.McCullough's estate because she was already entitled to them as his designated beneficiary on record with the insurer.

The dissenting opinion in the case of McCullough v. Smith, 1934 was not provided in the original document or is unknown. Therefore, it cannot be summarized as requested.