RNLCY GENERAL. XAS

September 24, 1963

HonorableW. C. Lindsey Criminal DistrictAttorney Opinion NO. C- 146 Jefferson County Beaumont, Texas Re:

Dear Mr. Lindsey:

The questions submitted In 10, 1963, are as follows: Whether a marriedwoman may' legallybe a surety on the various types of bonds used by the Sheriff's Department and related question. your letter of September

been "Whetheror not a marriedwoman may legallybe a surety on the various types of bonds usedby the Sheriff'sDepartment? If so, may her exempt separateproperty and/or communityproperty be levied on in the event of a forfeiture?" Article 4624 of Vernon's Civil Statutes has recently amended by the 58th Legislature to read as follows: "Upon the trial of any suit based upon a contract of the wife, the court shall decree that judgmentmay be leviedupon her separate'property,upon revenues from her separateproperty, or upon her personal earnings,
. . .' Article 4626 of Vernon's Civil Statutes has been amended to read:

"Amarriedwoman shallhave the same powers and capacityas if she were a feme sole, in her own name, to contractand be contractedwith, sue and be sued, and all her separateproperty,her personal earnings and the revenues from her separate estate

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which is not exempt from executionunder the laws of Texas shall thereafterbe subject to her debts and be liable therefor, and her contractsand obligations shallbe binding on her." (Emphasisadded) Article 4621 of Vernon's Civil Statuteshas been amended to read as follows:

"The communityproperty of the husband and wife,,other than the personal earnings of the wife and the revenues from her separate property, shall not be liable for debts or damages resulting from contracts of the wife, except for necessities furnishedherself and children, unless the husband joins in the execution of the contract;.provided that her rights with reference to the community property on permanent abandonment by the husband shall not be affected by this provision." A bond is defined in Texas JurisprudenceSecond "an obligatory Instrument in wrlting.whereby one binds %&self to pay a sum of money or to do some other act. Any Instrument In writing that legallybinds a person to do a certain thing may be called a bond; In this sense the term implies nothing more than a contra~ct." 9Tex.Jur.2d 420, Bonds, Sec. 1. Article 4626, quoted abov~e, clearly gives a married woman the power to contract in her own name. That Article also makes a marriedwoman's separateproperty, personal earnings,and non-exempt revenues from her separate estate liable for her debts. particle4624, quoted above, makes the separateproperty,personal ea~rnlngs, and revenues from her separateproperty subject to execution to satisfyher debts. Under Article 4621, quoted above, the communityproperty other than the personal earnings of the wife and the revenues from her.separateproperty,would not be liable for the contracts of the wife without the joinder of the husband, except for necessities furnishedherself and children.

It is the opinion of this office that a bond is a contractwithin the purview of Article 4626 and that a married woman may legallybe a surety on the various types of bonds used by the SherIffIsDepartment.without the joinder of her husband. However, such a bond would bind only the separate property, personal earnings,and non-exempt revenue

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from the separate estate of the marriedwoman. A bond entered into by the wife alone could not bind the community property, other than the personal earnings of the wife and the revenues from her separateproperty.

SUMMARY A married woman may legallybe a surety on the various types of bonds used by the Sheriff'sDepartment. A marriedwoman may bind her separate property on such a bond but she may not bind the communityproperty other than the personal earnings of the wife and the revenues from her separateproperty without the joinder of her husband. Yours very truly, WAGGONER CARR Attorney General

Jack G. Norwood Assistant JGN:mkh APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE W. V. Geppert, Chairman Corbin Lee Snow, Jr. PaulRobertson Jerry Brock Gordon Appleman APPROVED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: Stanton Stone,

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