Williams v. Harris

Citations

• 4 S.D. 22
• 54 N.W. 926
• 1893 S.D. LEXIS 35

Syllabus

<p>1. A conveyance made by a husband to his wife cannot be regarded as a general assignment for the benefit of creditors, with preferences, when the record fails to show that the husband was insolvent at the time the conveyance was made, and that the property so transferred did not constitute, substantially, all the grantor's property.</p> <p>2. Under the existing policy of our law a wife may deal with her husband, as regards her separate estate, upon the same terms as though that relationship had no existence, subject to the qualification named in Section 2590, Comp. Laws.</p> <p>3. A transfer of a considerable portion of property by a debtor, when in failing circumstances, to his wife, immediately after acquiring it, may excite suspicion, and, unexplained, may raise a presumption of fraud. But parties may always come in, and rebut the presumption, by showing the utmost good faith in the transaction.</p> <p>4. When the wife is a bona fide creditor of the husband, he has the right to secure or pay her as any other creditor; and a conveyance of property made to her for that purpose will not be defeated, even if the husband has a fraudulent intent, unless the wife has knowledge of that fact.</p> <p>(Syllabus by the Court.</p>