Epperson v. Jones

Citations

• 65 Tex. 425
• 1886 Tex. LEXIS 682

Syllabus

<p>1. Husband and wife—Community estate—Property acquired by onerous title during marriage presumably community property—Wife’s separate estate— Burden of proof—All property acquired by either the husband or the wife during marriage, by onerous title, is presumed to be community property, and vhe burden of proving that any portion thus acquired is the separate property of the wife, rests upon the party asserting it.</p> <p>2. Same—Where the property has been paid for in money it must be made reasonably clear that this money was derived by the wife in such manner as to constitute it her own separate funds.</p> <p>3. Wife's separate estate—Profits derived from an investment thereof—Community property—Profits derived from an investment of the wife’s separate^ estate, are community property. (Citing Cleveland v. Cole, supra.; Braden v. Gose, 57 Tex. 41, and Green v. Ferguson, 62 Tex. 529.)</p> <p>•4. Property purchased by wife on credit—Community property—Property purchased by the wife on credit, becomes community property.</p> <p>■5. Wife may become merchant—How business conducted, to exempt same from husband’s debts—The wife may become a merchant, but she must conduct the business with goods which are her separate property, and must not invest the community estate or the credit of her husband in the purchase of goods, if she wishes them to be exempt from her husband’s debt. For this reason, she cannot purchase on credit, but must buy for cash only, and be ready to show that ■the money so used is her separate means.</p> <p>6. Same—Profits mixed with wife’s separate means—Burden of proof—If profits made on sales of the goods be mixed with the wife’s separate money used in their purchase, she must be prepared to show how much of her own money entered into the purchase. The burden of proving this is not upon the creditor who seizes the goods for her husband’s debts.</p>