Winslow v. Putnam
Winslow v. Putnam
Opinion of the Court
Harriet M. Williams filed her bill in this cause in aid of execution, making Daniel Putnam, Elizabeth Putnam, his wife, and Ernest Putnam, his son, de
Daniel Putnam, in 1875, resided with his family on afarm of 120 acres, being the lands in question. In October of that year he purchased and paid with his own money for another 40-acre parcel, called the “Bigelow Forty,” the conveyance being taken in the name of his wife. In 1882 he bought 40 acres of land of Mrs. Williams for $2,300. He paid $500 down, and gave a mortgage back for $1,800. Himself and family moved upon the Williams 40, upon which there was an orchard and good buildings. At one time the debt against the Williams 40 had been reduced to $1,700, but at the time of the foreclosure it was upwards of $2,400. In October, 1895, he deeded to his wife 80 acres of the old homestead, making her, with the 40 acres of land he gave her in 1875, the owner of 120 acres of land. In Februai’y, 1897, he deeded to Ernest 40 acres of land, leaving title in himself to only the Williams 40, from which he had removed a good deal of timber, some of which went into the construction of a house on the old homestead. He also permitted the farm to run down so that it was not worth as much as the debt against it. Some time prior to May, 1898, a new house had been built on the west 40 acres of the old farm, and in May, 1898, Mr. Putnam and his family left the Williams farm, and moved into the new house. Afterwards the mortgage was foreclosed upon the Williams 40, and it is to enforce the collection of the deficiency on that sale this suit is brought.
Mr. Putnam admits in his answer he has no property liable to levy and sale on execution. Mrs. Putnam and
There is, of course, no longer any question in this State of the right of the husband, who is in good faith a debtor to his wife, to perfer her to other creditors (Leppig v. Bretzel, 48 Mich. 321 [12 N. W. 199]); but, where a conveyance is made by an insolvent husband to his wife, the transaction, because of the relationship of the parties, should be closely scrutinized. This is not a case where the wife had money of her own which she had permitted her husband to use upon his promise to pay her. Her claim is based upon the use of property bought with his
In Ball v. Phenicie, 94 Mich. 355 (53 N. W. 1114), Justice Montgomery, speaking for the court, said:
“The theory of the defense was that David L. Phenicie became indebted to his wife for moneys advanced and loaned by her from time to time, and, as is usual in such cases, the aggregate amount claimed to be due is the various sums originally advanced by the wife to the husband, together with interest, without any deduction whatever on any account. Such a course of dealing is so against common experience as to call for a very careful scrutiny of the testimony by the court. It is not the common course for a lady possessed of considerable means to continue in possession of an estate for a long term of years without applying or appropriating one dollar of it to any purpose whatever; and, while it is the duty of the court to protect the property rights of married women, even as against the creditors of the husband, it is no injustice to the parties in a case like the present to apply, in construing the testimony, such fair presumptions as the common experience of mankind suggests.”
See, also, Case Manfg. Co. v. Perkins, 106 Mich. 349 (64 N. W. 201).
If the claim of the two defendants is to be believed, we find a husband donating to his wife a piece of land, chiefly valuable for the pasture, upon which he pays taxes and makes the improvements, the proceeds of which he uses, in common with the proceeds of the rest of the farm, for the support of the son and wife; also immediately making an arrangement to pay what is shown by the weight of testimony to be a very, high rent. The rent is allowed to accumulate, though there is no reason shown why the
The decree is reversed, and one will be entered here in accordance with this opinion, with costs of both courts.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- WINSLOW v. PUTNAM
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published