Givens v. Hudson

Citations

• 64 Tex. 471

Syllabus

<p>1. Homestead — Constitution and ' statutes construed.— Neither section 52 of article 16 of the state constitution, nor article 1817 of the Revised Statutes, perpetuates the homestead exemption from sale to satisfy the debts of the surviving member of the marital union after his or her death, when no constituent of the family remains.</p> <p>2. Same. — The section of the constitution above referred to does not attempt to declare under what circumstances property used during the life-time of a deceased person as a homestead shall be exempted from forced sale to satisfy debts against his estate.</p> <p>3. Same — Constitution construed.— Article 16, section 50, of the state constitution, simply declares that the homestead of the family shall be exempt from forced sale for the payment of debts, and that clause, as well as the statutes (Rev. Stats., 2335), indicates what persons may be considered as constituting the family after the death of husband and wife. Such family cannot he constituted by adult descendants other than “ unmarried daughters ” remaining with the family of the deceased.</p> <p>4. Homestead exemption — Descent and distribution.— Unless the homestead of the surviving member of the marital union has, on his or her death, descended and vested, wholly or in part, in fee or in some lesser estate, in some such person or persons as in law constitute a family, it will be liable to sale to satisfy debts of the deceased, as his or her other property is liable. Its exemption from forced sale depends upon the status or condition of those claiming the exemption, and not upon the status or condition of one from whom it was inherited.</p> <p>5. Same.— The rules above announced apply with equal force to personal property exempt from forced sale, so far as the rights of creditors are concerned, though they may not always be applicable when considered with reference to the rights of those who are not creditors.</p>