| Gift (law) |
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A gift, in the Law of Property , has a very specific meaning. In order for a gift to be effective under the law, three elements must exist: #The grantor (or donor) of the gift must have a present intent to make a gift of the property to the grantee. A promise to make a gift in the future is unenforceable, and legally meaningless, even if the promise is accompanied by a present transfer of the physical property in question. #: Suppose, for example, that Joey hands Rachel a diamond ring and says, "I bought you this ring for your next birthday, so you hold onto it until then, and it will be your present." Joey has not made a present gift, and could legally demand the ring back on the day before Rachel's birthday. #The gift must be delivered to the grantee. If the gift is of a type that can not be delivered in the conventional sense - a house, or a bank account - the delivery can be effected by a ''constructive delivery'', wherein a tangible item that symbolizes the gift - a Deed or Key to the house, a passbook for the bank account - is delivered instead. #:Certain forms of property must be transfered following paticular formalities described by law. In UK law, Real Property must be transfered by a written Deed (s. 52 Law of Property Act 1925), the transferal of Equitable Interest must be performed in writing by the owner or their agent. #The grantee (or donee) must accept the gift. However, because people generally accept gifts, acceptance will be presumed, so long as the grantee does not expressly reject the gift. A rejection of the gift destroys the gift, so that a grantee can not revive a once-rejected gift by later accepting it. In order for such an acceptance to be effective, the grantor would have to extend the offer of the gift again. Gifts can be ''inter vivos'' - during the life of the grantor - or ''causa mortis'' - made by the grantor in anticipation of his own death. A gift ''causa mortis'' (or ''donatio mortis causa'' in the law Latin of old England) is not effective unless the grantor actually dies of the impending peril contemplated when giving the gift. |
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