Opinion ID: 1710872
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: As to the Property

Text: When the parties married, the husband was the owner of a vacant lot in Auburn, Alabama. This lot was acquired by him by gift from his mother in 1935, about five years before the parties' marriage. They came to Auburn to live in 1946, after which they built a duplex residence on a portion of this property. To finance the construction, a $16,000 loan was obtained and a mortgage placed on the property as security therefor. In November, 1950, the husband sold his confectionary business in Auburn. In March, 1951, he bought a laundry business at Barnesville, Georgia, and remained in that business until July, 1951. It appears that this business owed more money than was thought at the time of the purchase, and it was found that the business could not carry the load. It further appears that there was some question about the husband's liability for such pre-existing indebtedness. He testified that he was advised by counsel in Georgia to transfer his property to his wife's name as a protective measure. In this connection, the husband testified as follows: He advised me that this other indebtedness might be collected by virtue of this clause in here, and either directly or indirectly his advice was to put the property in my wife's name. On July 6, 1951, while in Barnesville, Georgia, the husband conveyed the 1947 Chevrolet panel delivery truck to his wife for a recited consideration of $500. On July 12, 1951, the husband requested the wife to meet him at an attorney's office in Auburn, Alabama; that he was going to deed the other property to her. They went to the lawyer's office, and the husband there executed two warranty deeds to the real estate and a bill of sale to the 1949 Ford 2-door sedan. The deed to the home lot recited a consideration of $500, the deed to the vacant lot a consideration of $100, and the bill of sale to the Ford sedan a consideration of $50. These three instruments were prepared by the attorney at the husband's request. After execution and delivery of them to the wife, the attorney advised her that the property belonged to her, and further, that the obligation of paying the mortgage on the home still remained with the husband. According to the attorney, no discussion whatever was had as to the reason why the husband was deeding the property to the wife. It appears that there had been a discussion prior to that time between the husband and the wife, of which the attorney had knowledge, concerning a settlement between them. With respect to the transaction, the attorney had this to say: Mr. Webb came to me one day and told me he wanted two deeds from himself to his wife, explaining that part of the property was encumbered and part was not, that he wanted me to draw a power of attorney and that he would come back. He would sign the deeds, Mrs. Webb would sign the power of attorney. The best of my recollection is that both came to my old office and signed those papers. I handed the papers to Mrs. Webb and I said something like this'I hope this means that there has been a reconciliation and that you have become reconciledor something of that sort. The wife denies that anything was said about deeding the property to her for any limited purpose; that she was surprised, yet pleased, when the husband told her he was going to deed the property to her. The husband's theory in seeking a divestment of title out of his wife and investing it in him is that a resulting trust was created in his favor. It is alleged in his crossbill that all of said property was paid for with the money of this respondent and cross-complainant and that the title to said property was allowed to be taken by the complainant and cross-respondent in her name, but at the taking of said title in her name, it was understood that she was taking the title to said property in trust to be held for this respondent and cross-complainant and that the property was not to be considered by the complainant as a gift or advancement,   . But the evidence does not support these allegations. At the time the husband deeded the real property to the wife, the title was in him and had been in him since 1935. In Hooks v. Hooks, 258 Ala. 427, 63 So.2d 348, 350, the following from J. A. Owens & Co. v. Blanks, 225 Ala. 566, 144 So. 35, is quoted with approval: A resulting trust, the holding of title by one with beneficial ownership in another, is a creature of equity, based upon the prima facie presumption that he who pays the whole or an aliquot part of the purchase price for lands becomes the beneficial owner. The doctrine does not rest on an express, but on an implied, agreement, by which the title is taken in the name of another as matter of convenience. No tort or breach of duty is involved in this form of trust. The conveyance, as made, may be in keeping with the common purpose of all parties. But, in the nature of the case, as often declared, this beneficial ownership must arise at the time of the purchase, when the status of title becomes fixed. Since the trust arises from the payment of purchase money, such payment must ordinarily be made at the time of the purchase. Here, the title was already in the husband at the time he deeded the real estate to his wife. There was no payment of the purchase price by the husband at the time the title was placed in the wife. It is manifest that the evidence does not make a case for construction of a trust in favor of the husband in the land. The evidence shows that the title to the Ford sedan was originally taken in the names of both parties. The wife testified that she paid the purchase price. However that may be, the husband transferred and assigned to her whatever interest he had in the car. He also transferred and assigned to her the Chevrolet panel truck. We find nothing in the evidence to rebut the presumption of a gift of this property to the wife. Marshall v. Marshall, 243 Ala. 169, 171, 8 So.2d 843; Fiscus v. Young, 243 Ala. 39, 42, 8 So.2d 514; McNaron v. McNaron, 210 Ala. 687, 99 So. 116. Another conclusive reason why the husband cannot prevail is because the transfer of the property to his wife was, according to his own testimony, for the purpose of protecting it from existing claims of his creditors. Being so, he has no standing in equity to have the beneficial interest in the property declared in his favor. A fraudulent conveyance is operative as between the parties, and only those who are or may be injured by the fraudulent transaction may avail themselves of the fraud. Heidt v. Wallace, 239 Ala. 246, 248, 194 So. 501; Stamey v. Fortner, 233 Ala. 133, 170 So. 196; Moore v. Altom, 196 Ala. 158, 159, 71 So. 681. The trial court divested the wife of title to all of the property, both real and personal, except the panel truck. In this, there was error.