For an inter vivos gift (a gift between living persons as opposed to a bequest by will or a gift causa mortis) to be effective, the donee must show three things:
1. Donative intent i.e. a clear and convincing intent of the donor to transfer the object to the donee right now--in the present time;
2. In most cases, the donor must actually deliver the object to the donee; and
3. The donee must accept the object.
Example: On Christmas morning, I give my daughter a new Apple Watch. I hand it to her, say “Merry Christmas honey”, and she says “thanks, Dad,” and takes the Watch.
“We have achieved a gift, Houston.”
"There is an important distinction between the intent with which an inter vivos gift is made and the intent to make a gift by will. An inter vivos gift requires that the donor intend to make an irrevocable present transfer of ownership; if the intention is to make a testamentary disposition effectiveonly after death, the gift is invalid unless made by will." --Casebook at p. 218
Suppose my wife takes out her mother’s wedding ring, hands it to our daughter and says “I will give you this on your wedding day.”
My wife asks my daughter to give her back the ring and she refuses. Do we have a gift?
Why or why not?
No present intent to make a gift.
What happens when my daughter gets married and my wife has changed her mind about giving her the ring.
No gift. My wife never had a present intent to make a gift.
