143 So. 568 | Ala. | 1932
Section 8272 of the Code of 1923 provides that "the wife shall not, directly or indirectly, become the surety for the husband." It must be observed that the only limitation put upon the right of the wife to dispose of her property is that she cannot bind it as a surety, directly or indirectly, for the debts of the husband. "She has the 'right to give her property away to her husband or anybody else, and to apply it, by her own hand or through her husband, directly to the payment of his debts.' " Sample v. Guyer,
As we understand the facts in this case, the wife is in no wise a surety for her husband, directly or indirectly. She owned certain real estate and conveyed it to him absolutely, which she had the right to do, and he then had the right to do with it as he pleased. It was then his property and not hers, and it matters not the purpose for which she gave it to him as there is nothing in this record to show that the conveyance to the husband was not absolute although she may have conveyed it to him to enable him to borrow money as testified to by Richardson, the notary, and herself. This court has held several times that the wife cannot take a circuitous route to evade the statute, but we know of no case where this court has applied the doctrine of suretyship when the wife owned property and deeded it to her husband, as here, because he subsequently borrowed money on it and used it, or some of it, to pay his debts.
The cases of Hill v. Hill,
The case of Henderson v. Brunson,
The case of Vinegar Bend Lmbr. Co. v. Leftwich,
The decree of the circuit court is affirmed.
Affirmed.
GARDNER, BOULDIN, and FOSTER, JJ., concur.