32 Ga. 604 | Ga. | 1861
JBy the Court.
delivering the opinion.
Lucinda Lane, a married woman, having a life estate in certain real and personal property, secured to her sole and separate use, executed on the 26th March, 1856, to the complainant, jointly and severally with her son Bolling A. Lane, a promissory note for the sum of $274 25. On the 9th January, 1858, the note being unpaid, Mrs. Lane assigned this life estate, being the whole of her separate estate, to the defendants, upon the consideration that they would pay all debts for which said property was legally bound, and that each of them would pay to her annually during her life the one-sixth of $350 00. Bolling A., the other party to the note, being insolvent, and Lucinda Lane having departed this life without leaving any assets for the payment of this debt, the complainant filed this bill against defendants to compel a payment of the note under their agreement with the said Lucinda, upon taking her assignment thereof to the property. To this bill defendants demurred, on the grounds 1. That the bill was without equity. 2. That sufficient parties to the bill had not been made. The first grounds involves two questions.
1. Whether the life-estate of Lucinda Lane, in the property assigned to defendants, that being an estate to the sole and separate use of the said Lucinda Lane, a feme covert, was subject to, or .bound for, the payment of this debt while in her hands and before assignment to defendants ?
2. Whether this bill could be maintained by the complainant against the defendants on their agreement with the said Lucinda Lane, the complainant being no party but a stranger thereto.
1. As to the first question, that is, whether the property was bound for the payment of the debt? we hold that it was. Whenever property is secured to a feme covert to her sole and separate use, without qualification, limitations or restrictions as to its use and enjoyment, she is to be regarded in respect
3. Lord Hardwick ruled, in Redout vs. Lewis, 1 Atk., "269, “that the wife might come to an agreement with her husband in relation to anything she held separately;” in Stanford vs. Marshall, 2 Atk., 69, that the separate estate of feme eovert, who had become sureties with their husbands, were responsible to the creditors; in Allen vs. Papworth, 1 Ves., Sen., 163, that if a feme eovert having power to receive the profits of an estate to her separate use, and to appoint them as she pleased, brings a bill jointly with her husband for an account, and submitting that the profits should be applied to the payment of the husband’s debts, and a decree passes, that bill to which she was made a party without collusion, is as much an execution of her power as an actual appointment would have been, and the profits shall be bound by the decree. In Heade vs. Greenbank, 1 Ves., Sen., 303, it is a rule of Court that a feme eovert may dispose of her personal estate when given to her separate use. In Grigby vs. Cox., 1 Ves., 518, “the rule of Court is, that when anything is settled to the wife’s separate use, she is considered as
Thus stood the question in 1776, without an adjudication or even dicta to the contrary. Then came the decision in Hulme vs. Tenant, 3 Bro., C. C., 16, in 1778. That Avas a plea filed by the obligee in a bond entered into by the defendants, husband and Avi'fe, to secure ¿£180—to recover the sum out of the separate estate of the wife, Avhich, upon marriage, the Avife had conveyed to trustees, in trust, to pay the wife the rents and profits to her separate use, and to convey the estate to such use as she, by deed or Avill, in writing, should appoint, and in default of appointment, to her heirs and assigns. Lord ThurloAV said: “ The rule laid doxvn in Peacock, that a feme covert, acting with respect to her separate property, is competent to act, in all respects, as if she were a feme sole, is the proper rule, and necessary to support the decisions on this subject. I take it therefore it is impossible to say, but that a feme covert is competent to act as a
The bill was by the husband and wife to require the trustees to sell out the stocks and pay the money to them. Lord Alvanlcy ruled, that as the wife, by the settlement, was restricted to a disposition of the principal by will, she could only dispose of in that way, not by deed, but in so holding, he subscribed to Norton vs. Turville, and concurred in the dictuvi in Hulme vs. Tenant, that when a power is given to a married woman to act on her property, she is so far to be considered as a feme sole. That is the rule of this Court, that when there is no restraint in the instrument creating the separate estate, upon the wife’s power of disposition, she is to be considered in respect to it as a feme sole, but if the Court can gather from the conveyance or settlement, under which the wife holds, no intention to limit or restrain the wife’s power of disposition, or of charging the separate estate, that limitation and restriction must and will be rigidly enforced, and when one mode of disposition is given that excludes all others. The neglect of the Courts to observe and enforce this principle involved the Chancery Courts of England in great trouble, and created that confusion and apparent inconsistency in their adjudications, upon this subject that was so forcibly demonstrated by Chancellor Kent in the close exam
■ The Chancellor did not, in this case, overrule the former adjudications of the Court on this subject, although he evidently believed them to be erroneous; but upon the particular circumstances of the case took it out of the rule of those cases and supported the bill of the wife and children. In the subsequent case of Moses vs. Hursh, 5 Vesey, 692, where one had purchased an annuity from a married woman who had real and personal estate settled to her separate use, against the strong objection of the trustee on account of the idleness and extravagance of the husband, and the probability that the wife and children would come to the parish, Lord Loughborough dismissed the bill of the purchaser to have the rents and profits applied to the payment of the annuity, without taking it out of the rule, and without any other reason than that this was a mere trust to receive the rents and profits, and from time to time to the separate use of the wife, and that the purchaser, under the circumstances, was not entitled to the consideration of a Court of Equity. These cases and dicta of Lord Loughborough, although they created great doubt and distraction in the mind of his sue
In Sturges vs. Corp, 13 Vesey, 192, Sir William Grant again says: “When property is settled to the use of a married woman an examination is not necessary.” And in Essex vs. Atkins, 14 Vesey, 547, “notwithstanding Lord Rosslyn’s doubt, the established doctrine is, that a married woman can bind her separate property without the trustees, unless their assent is rendered necessary by the instrument giving her the property.” Again, in Heatly vs. Thomas, 15 Vesey, 596, where a married woman having property to her separate use had joined with her husband and another in the giving of a bond for the sum of £500, “ if this was absolutely separate property in Mrs. Johnson, that takes it out of the case of Sockett vs. Wray to that of Hulme vs. Tenant,” and upon consideration of the settlement, “it was declared that the separate estate of Sarah Johnson, (the feme covert,) with that of the other defendants, were jointly and severally liable to pay the principal and interest on the plaintiff’s bond.” In ,an anonymous case, 18 Vesey, 258, “a married woman having separate property died indebted by bond and simple contract.” Sir William Grant held, “ that the circumstances of debt contracted by a married woman being secured by a bond did not give the creditor any priority, the bond, considered security as a bond, being void; therefore, all the debts must be paid equally.” In Stewart vs. Kirkwall, 3 Madd., Ch., 387, when Lady Kirkwall, having a separate estate, and living apart from her husband, accepted a bill of exchange, on bill filed by the holder to charge her separate estate with its payment, the Vice Chancellor (Sir John Leach) said:
“ I had occasion to consider this doctrine fully in Greatly vs. Noble. (3 Madd. Ch., 49.) I then was and am now of opinion, that a feme covert being incapable of contract, this Court can not subject her separate property to general demands. Rut that as incident to the power of enjoyment of separate
I will endeavor to show, in a subsequent place, what is meant by “general demands,” as used by the Vice Chancellor in this case. The dictum in Greatly vs. Noble, is: “At law there can be no separate enjoyment of property by a feme covert; in equity there may, and as incident to the power of enjoyment, she has a power of charging her separate property. When a wife, as in Hulme vs. Tenant and other cases, joins with her husband in security, it is implied to be an execution of her power to charge her separate property. If it were necessary now to decide the point, I think it would be difficult to find either principle or authority for reaching the separate estate of a feme covert as if she were a feme sole, without any charge on her part, either express or implied.”
In Field vs. Sowle, 4 Russ., 112, (4 Eng. Ch. R., 113,) when certain real estate was secured to the separate use of the wife, with power to appoint the property by deed or other writing, or by her will, the wife, after marriage, joined her husband in a promissory note to the plaintiff Field, the same Vice Chancellor ruled that “ the signature of the promissory note, by the defendant, Sarah Sowle, is sufficient to charge her. The Courts act upon the security of the wife, not as an agreement to charge her separate property, but as equitable appointment under the settlement;” decree for satisfaction out of the rents and profits. In Murray vs. Barbe, 4 Lim., (6 Eng. Ch., 192,) a married woman having separate property, and living apart from her husband, employed the plaintiffs as her solicitors in various matters of litigation she had with her husband and others, and promised by letter to pay their bills, without reference to her separate estate. Vice Chancellor Sir L. Shadwell, upon consideration of all the authorities, held that the separate property was liable to the demands of the plaintiffs. From this decision of the Vice Chancellor an appeal was taken, and the judgment of the Vice Chancellor affirmed. 3 Myl. & K., 219, (10 Eng. Ch.)
1. I doubted, and am confirmed in that by Williams vs. The Duke of Bolton, whether there is any authority that ■merely because a man contracts with a married woman, the
From this too greatly extended reference it will be seen that the rule adopted by this Court falls far short of that of most of the cases cited, for in many of them the restraint upon the feme covert’s power of alienation of the separate estate, that was evidently intended to be imposed by the instrument creating such estate, has been disregarded by the Court, while our rule, on the contrary, is that as to her separate estate, she is a feme sole sub moda, to the extent that the instrument creating the separate estate makes her so. We might, under the adjudications, have gone further, but as there was1 no conflict up to the point we have gone, we could not, without a violation of all precedent, have failed to go as far as we have. I mean, of course, of the precedent of the English Chancery Courts. The American cases I have not considered, nor shall, for they are so conflicting, and at such variance, that they either furnish no rule at all or leave us at liberty to adopt such as we might deem the most just and equitable. Indeed, did we not feel ourselves constrained by precedent we should, notwithstanding, adopt the rule that we have, as affording the most ample protection to the married woman, and at the same time extending to her the fullest and most perfect enjoyment of her separate estate. Under it the parents or friends making the settlement may so guard her estate that she can not touch or convert the corpus, or they may, by confiding in her intelligence and capacity to manage and protect her own interests, clothe her with the same power of control and management as if she were a feme sole, and this they will
2. The next question, as to whether the plaintiff, he being no party to the agreement, can enforce this agreement against these defendants, in equity, is one which is no longer open, for it is controlled by the decision of this Court ,at the Macon January Term, 1861, of Bell vs. McGrady, et al. The firm Gardner & Kendrick, parties in a .livery stable, buggies and horses, etc., sold and conveyed the livery stable and their entire stock to McGrady, one of the defendants, McGrady agreeing, in part consideration of such purchase, to pay all the debts and liabilities of the firm of Gardner & Kendrick. Bell, the holder of a note on G. & K., filed his bill against McGrady to compel a payment of the note on Gardner & Kendrick, both of whom were insolvent. This Court, on demurrer, sustained the bill, holding that “ it was proper for this creditor to go into equity to enforce this agreement in behalf of himself and others.” Behind a decision directly in point, as we hold this to be, this Court will not. go. In that case, Gardner & Kendrick, as Mrs. Lane in this, had parted with the entire dominion of the property. The agreement was not a mere declaration of intention in favor of the creditors, that might be re-called or controlled by the grantor; but it was an executed trust, complete at law, and in this the cases differ from the many cases of voluntary assignment for the payment of debts, etc., to which reference has been made. See Ellison vs. Ellison, 6 Vesey, 662; Garrard vs. Lord Lauderdale, 4 Russ., and My., (11 Eng. Ch.,) 453-4; Nicoll vs. Mumford, 4 John. Ch., 529; Moses vs. Murgatroyd, 1 John., Ch., 129; Fortesque vs. Barnett, 3 Myl. and K., (10 Eng. Ch.,) 42; Story’s Eq. Jur, sec. 793. a.
3. Mi’s. Lucinda Lane being dead, and no administration being had, and no necessity for one, as she had no property to administer, are sufficient excuses for not making her a party to the bill.
The objection as to Bolling A., Joseph S., and George M. Lane not being parties, was not insisted upon, nor in fact was that as to Mrs. Lane; besides, the objection does not
Let the judgment be reversed.