a thesis - Institute of Advanced Legal Studies

INVALIDATING CAUSES. 79
upon good (which here means valuable) consideration and bond fide,
a conveyance may be set aside under it, even though for value, if
shown to be fraudulent.
A. Conveyances for Value.—Trusts created for valuable consideration
are found in ante-nuptial settlements. These may be
void under the statute if made with intent to delay creditors,
unless they are made bond fide and the beneficiary has no notice of
the fraud.
Illustrations.
1. A. by ante-nuptial settlement assigns property to trustees
upon trust for himself until bankruptcy, and then over to B. The
settlement is void, and A.'s trustee in bankruptcy is entitled to the
property. Higginbotham v. Holme (1811), 19 Yesey, 88.
2. A. has cohabited with a woman for seven years. Being in
insolvent circumstances and intending to secure his property from
his creditors, he marries the woman, and by an ante-nuptial settlement
assigns the whole of his property to trustees upon trust for
his wife, with a joint power to them to appoint amongst their
children. The woman is aware of the facts. The settlement is
void. Columbine v. Penhall (1853), 1 Sm. & Griff. 228; Bulmer v.
Hunter (1869), L. B. 8 Eq. 46.
3. A. executes an ante-nuptial settlement of all his property on
B., whom he subsequently marries. The only object of both A.
and B. is to endeavour, under cover of the marriage, to put A.'s
property out of the reach of his creditors. The settlement is void.
In re Pennington, Ex parte Cooper (1888), 59 L. T. 774.
B. Voluntary Conveyances.—It was formerly thought that, if the
effect of the settlement were to deprive the settlor of the means
of paying his then existing debts, an intent to defraud must be
presumed in the case of a voluntary settlement. (Freeman v. Pope
(1870), 5 Ch. App. 540.) It is certain, however, that the court is
not bound to presume an intent to defeat or delay creditors merely
because they are defeated or delayed as a necessary consequence of
the settlement. A settlement which has this effect will be good if
it appears from the evidence that the settlor had no such intent.
(Exparte Mercer, In re Wise (1886), 17 Q. B. D. 290.)