20 Iowa 502 | Iowa | 1866
In Westfall v. Lee et ux., 7 Iowa, 12, in the concluding paragraph of the opinion by Woodward, J., reference is made to the matter of relinquishment of dower and the necessity for acknowledgment, but it does not appear from the statement of the case, or otherwise in the opinion, that any such question was involved in it. The question may possibly have been as to the genuineness of the signature of the wife; and upon this, what is said as to the absence of acknowledgments, would be very correct. Under our statute there is no difficulty in determining this question. Revision, “ section 2215 (1207 of Code of 1851). A married woman may convey her interest in real estate in the same manner as other persons.” This means exactly what it says, and removes the common law disability of a married woman, in this respect, and places her upon the Same footing as a feme sole or adult male. It is further provided, Revision, section 2209 (1201 of Code of 1851), that “ every conveyance of real estate passes all the interest of the grantor therein, unless a contrary intent can be reasonably inferred from the terms used.” There is nothing in the conveyance relied upon in this case that would tend to raise any inference, that any estate or interest was reserved in the grantors or either of them.
Under our law (Rev., § 2479), the husband has the same dower right and interest in the real estate of the wife, as the wife has in the real estate of the husband. Suppose the husband should join the wife in the granting clause and covenants of a deed conveying the wife’s land, but should not expressly relinquish his dower therein, would any lawyer claim that after the death of the wife, he could recover his dower interest in the land thus conveyed ?
Such claim would hardly be made by any one. And
The wife having joined in the granting and covenanting parts of the deeds in controversy, was correctly held by the District Court to have passed all her interest in the real estate conveyed thereby. See Learned v. Cutler, 18 Pick., 9.
Affirmed.