Tomlinson v. Matthews

Citations

• 98 Ill. 178
• 1881 Ill. LEXIS 239

Syllabus

<p>1. Fraudulent conveyance—giving preference to one creditor. A debtor in failing circumstances may prefer one creditor to the exclusion of others, when he does so in good faith and for a.valuable consideration, and the same rule applies to cases of a settlement by a husband upon his wife in payment of an indebtedness from him to her.</p> <p>2. Same—husband may prefer his wife in paying his debts. Under the principles deducible from the decisions of this court growing out of the legislation respecting married women and their separate property, the husband may prefer the wife (she being a creditor) to other creditors, provided the preference is based upon a valuable consideration and is made in good faith.</p> <p>3. Where a married woman actually loaned her husband money which she derived from her father and his estate, taking the husband’s notes for its repayment, and she did not know at the time of making the loans that, he was in failing circumstances, and he afterwards conveyed a tract of land to her, not worth any more at the time than the amount due from him to her, such conveyance was held valid as against creditors of the husband whose debts were contracted prior to the conveyance.</p> <p>4. Although a person may be credited upon the faith of his ownership of property, this will give the creditors no specific lien upon it., or prevent his subsequently selling and conveying, the same to a purchaser in good faith paying a valuable consideration for it, and a creditor may purchase whose debt may thereby be paid, although other creditors be left unpaid.</p> <p>5. Married women—common law disabilities changed by statute. Under the legislation of this State, the common law disabilities of married women are completely changed, and the common law rights of the husband in respect to his wife’s property have been abrogated. As respects her separate property, the husband and wife stand before the law as strangers.</p> <p>6. Same—she may make her husband her agent. A ma