Cheatham v. Sheppard
Cheatham v. Sheppard
Opinion of the Court
1. While in this State there is no statute inhibiting a conveyance of land by a husband to defeat his wife’s right of dower, save as to lands the title to which came through her, and an actual conveyance, though made for the purpose of defeating dower, will be upheld in favor of the grantee against the wife’s claim after her husband’s death, yet a mere colorable' conveyance, not intended by the parties to be real and operative, the grantor to be the real owner and the grantee to be the nominal and formal owner only, will leave the husband seized so far as the dower right is concerned, and his widow, after his death, may claim dower and have it assigned, notwithstanding such colorable and pretended conveyance by the husband. Flowers v. Flowers, 89 Ga. 632 (15 S. E. 834, 18 L. R. A. 75).
(a) A bona fide voluntary conveyance, though made for the purpose of defeating the wife’s right to dower, stands upon the same footing and has the same effect as a conveyance based on an actual sale. Pruett v. Cowsart, 136 Ga. 756 (72 S. E. 30) ; Harber v. Harber, 152 Ga. 98 (3 a) (108 S. E. 520).
2. The deceased husband of the petitioner, by a deed in his lifetime reciting a consideration of ten dollars and natural love and affection for the grantee, his sister, conveyed described realty to her which she by will devised to the defendants in the present action. In an equitable suit, brought by the wife of the grantor after the death of the grantee, it
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