diff --git a/src/common.cpp b/src/common.cpp
index 9d077bd..b750250 100644
--- a/src/common.cpp
+++ b/src/common.cpp
@@ -191,8 +191,7 @@ void TrimRead(const string& input_nucs,
 }
 
 bool fexists(const char *filename) {
-  ifstream ifile(filename);
-  return ifile;
+  return (bool)ifstream(filename);
 }
 
 bool valid_nucleotides_string(const string &str) {