Matthews v. Jordan

Citations

• 88 Ill. 602

Syllabus

<p>1. Fraudulent conveyance—indebtedness at the time not sufficient to show.. Mere indebtedness as security will not, per se, establish that a voluntary conveyance is void, even as to existing creditors, unless the other circumstances of the case justly create a presumption of fraud, actual or constructive, from the condition of the parties, and the direct tendency of the conveyance is to impair the rights of creditors.</p> <p>2. Same—voluntary settlement, retaining means sufficient to pay debts. A settlement made on a wife or child can not be held fraudulent and covinous from the fact of indebtedness at the time of making the settlement., if the grantor retains sufficient property with which to discharge his debts.</p> <p>3. Where a father, several years before a conveyance of his lands upon which he resided, to his son, became security upon several notes, amounting in all to about $1600, the principal being perfectly solvent until long after their maturity, and there was no proof whatever that the grantor had any knowledge of the existence of the security debts when he made the conveyance, or of any fraudulent intent on his part, and the grantor retained property sufficient to have paid such debts, and it appeared there was some money paid by the son at the time of the conveyance, and a debt of $1000 of his father assumed by him, and some other debts, which he paid, and that he obligated himself to support his father and mother during their lives, with a possibility of a reverter in case of the death of the grantee without issue, it was held, that the transaction had none of the elements of fraud as against the creditors of the grantor.</p>