Once again, under GLoT, "life" and "endowed" memberships are NOT the same thing. As it appears that you are interested in an "endowed" membership, the section of the Law regarding such is copied below. NOTE: The below is from the 2011 GLoT Law. The 12-month restrictions mentioned in the clauses regarding consolidated and demised Lodges were removed at the 2012 Grand Annual Communication.
Art. 318a. Endowed Membership.
1. Any member in good standing in a Lodge of this Grand Jurisdiction whose dues are paid to date may purchase an endowed membership for the benefit of such Lodge (hereinafter referred to as the “Endowed Lodge”), and be thereby relieved from the further payment of dues in the Endowed Lodge effective as of the date such purchase is made. The secretary of the Endowed Lodge shall issue annually a regular dues card to the member holding the endowed membership certificate at the same time other dues cards of the Lodge are issued.
2. The purchase price for an endowed membership shall be fixed annually by the Endowed Lodge as may be determined by a majority vote of the members present; provided that such purchase price shall be a multiple of $100 ($100 being the par value of an endowment unit) and shall be not less than $500 (5 endowment units). The vote to fix the purchase price for an endowed membership shall be had at the time provided by Article 292 and any change in the purchase price shall be effective June 24.
3. The purchase price collected by an Endowed Lodge for endowed memberships shall be transmitted to the Grand Secretary so as to be received by him on or before the next succeeding June 23 in order to qualify for an income distribution under Paragraph 4 hereof. Funds received by an Endowed Lodge for the purchase of endowed memberships may be invested by the Endowed Lodge in an insured interest bearing account in a reputable financial institution, and all such funds except as provided under Paragraph 7 hereof, shall be transmitted to the Grand Secretary no later than the next succeeding June 23rd. The Grand Secretary shall cause all monies received by his office for the purchase of endowed memberships to be promptly deposited into the Endowed Membership Fund and shall provide a monthly summary of such deposits to the Grand Lodge Trustees and to the Committee on Investments.
4. The Endowed Membership fund shall be invested and reinvested from time to time under the supervision of the Grand Lodge Trustees. The Grand Lodge Trustees shall take such action as they may determine necessary to protect the Endowed Membership Fund for the benefit of the Lodges, including, without limitation, the formation of Trusts, Limited Liability Partnerships, corporations, or any other appropriate entity as may be determined by the Trustees.
For accounting and investment purposes the endowed Membership Fund shall be composed of endowment units with an initial value of $100 each. The net asset of an endowment unit may vary from one investment period to the next. All endowment units shall be credited and allocated to the Endowed Lodges. Annually, not later that the first day of August, Endowed Lodges shall receive a distribution from the endowed Membership Fund computed as follows:
(1) An amount equal to the interest and dividends received.
(2) Plus sixty percent (60%) of the net realized capital gain received; provided, the additional distribution may be reduced so that the additional distribution shall not cause the net asset value of an endowed unit to be less that $100 after the additional distribution.
No distribution shall be paid for any endowed membership unit until August 1 of the 2nd calendar year after such endowment membership unit is received by the Grand Secretary. An administrative fee not to exceed five percent (5%) of the annual distribution paid to the Endowed Lodges may be deducted from the distribution before payment is made to the Endowed Lodges. (Revised 2011)
5. The Grand Secretary shall issue to the member in whose name an endowment has been created for the benefit of an Endowed Lodge an Endowed Membership Certificate under the Seal of the Grand Lodge, signed by the Grand Master and attested by the Grand Secretary. Replacement or duplicate certificates may be obtained from the Grand Secretary, by the endowed member, a family member of a deceased endowed member, or the Endowed Lodge upon payment of the current fee established by the Grand Lodge Trustees.
6. Endowed memberships are not transferable with Lodge membership, and remain to benefit the Endowed Lodge where such memberships are purchased. Endowed memberships purchased by members and endowed memberships purchased in any part in honor or memory of a member, or endowed memberships purchased in any part by a Lodge, organization, individual or group of individuals in the name of a member or former member and, the endowed memberships of deceased members cannot be transferred to any Lodge except as provided for consolidated or demised Lodges.
Consolidated Lodges
Within 12 months after the date of consolidation of two or more Lodges, an endowed member whose endowed membership was not purchased in the surviving Lodge may, if he affiliates with another Lodge of this Grand Jurisdiction, at the time of the affiliation, transfer the endowed membership to the Lodge with which he affiliates, provided the Lodge did not purchase the endowed membership. The transfer of the endowed membership shall be effective as of the fiscal year-end of the Endowed Membership Fund following receipt by the Grand Secretary of the request to transfer the endowed membership.
Demised Lodges
Within 12 months after the dissolution or demise of an Endowed Lodge, the holder of an endowed membership certificate therein, if he affiliates with another Lodge of this Grand Jurisdiction, may transfer the endowed membership to the Lodge with which he affiliates. Any interest accruing from the Endowed Membership Fund from the date of the dissolution or demise of the Endowed Lodge to the date of the transfer of an endowed membership shall be added to the principal of the Grand Lodge Endowed Membership Fund.
7. Lodges are prohibited from donating or selling endowed memberships in any other manner than as provided in this Article except Lodges may establish special accounts for the purpose of assisting and encouraging those members who wish to purchase endowed memberships on an installment plan by making regular, systematic, and regulated contributions to such account for the purpose of accumulating the necessary fee required to purchase an endowed membership. After the required fee has accumulated in the special account, the Lodge shall transmit such fee to the Grand Secretary as provided in this Article. The plan for such special account must be approved by a favorable vote of the Lodge, and must conform to those rules and requirements listed on Form No. 76-B of the Laws of this Grand Lodge. The funds in such special account shall be deposited in an insured interest bearing account in a reputable financial institution until such time as the funds are transmitted to the Grand Secretary.
8. Holders of endowed membership certificates are subject to all of the provisions of the Constitution and Laws of the Grand Lodge of Texas, and loss of membership due to suspension or expulsion shall automatically terminate such endowed membership certificate, and shall cause such holder to forfeit his endowed membership and any future claim to fees paid or to revenues earned from such endowed membership. The Lodge which held the endowed membership at the time of forfeiture, as provided herein, shall continue to receive the revenues earned from such endowed membership.
9. Upon the death of a holder of an endowed membership, the endowed Lodge shall continue to receive the income from the endowed membership.