Story Case

William Harnett and Edna Davis were married and lived in a state which had not changed the old common law of England, that the husband acquired by marriage an interest for life in the lands of his wife. Edna Davis owned one hundred acres of land when she became the wife of Harnett. Two years after their marriage, against the protest of his wife, Harnett sold this land to Omer Balon and Balon took possession of the land. The wife thereupon brought suit to have Balon ejected on the ground that altho the husband had a life interest he could not sell the land and give possession to another. Is this correct!

Ruling Court Case. Harris Vs. The Junction Railroad Company, Volume 9 Indiana Reports, Page 184; Volume 68 American Decisions, Page 618

In February, 1853, a tract of land was conveyed to Ellen, the wife of Jesse Harris. In October of the same year, Jesse and Ellen, by a deed with full covenants of warranty as to title, conveyed the land to the Junction Railroad Company, and received payment for the same.

At the time this conveyance was made, Ellen was between nineteen and twenty years of age. This suit is now brought by Jesse and Ellen to recover the land on the ground that Ellen was a minor when the land was conveyed.

Decision: Upon the marriage of man and woman, the husband acquires an interest in her property for their joint lives. In other words, he gets a life estate for their joint lives. The conveyance in this case passed his interest therein, that is, it passed his life estate. This they cannot recover for the minority of the wife did not affect the husband's life interest. The wife, however, has the reversion, or the remaining part of the estate, after the husband's life estate terminates, and she may recover that from the defendant.

Accordingly, it was held that the land could not now be recovered.

Ruling Law. Story Case Answer

We have just seen that the husband became by marriage the absolute owner of all personal property which belonged to his wife and all choses-in-action which he collected during the continuance of the marriage relation. The courts did not, however, apply this doctrine to the same extent in reference to the wife's real property. Real property, owned by the wife at the time of her marriage, continued to be hers; but during their joint lives the husband was entitled to all rents, profits and income accruing from the land.

In the Story Case, since the state legislature had not changed the common law brought to this country from England by the first settlers, this common law is applicable. Harnett, therefore, acquired a life interest, that is, the right to the land during his life. This interest he could convey. He could, moreover, give possession to the purchaser for his, the husband's, life. Consequently the wife must lose in the ejectment suit.

Statutes in all states have now given married women the right to hold their property free from the claims of their husbands. These statutes generally apply to both real and personal property.