Gifts Flashcards
Reasons For Formalities
Evidence - Writing or witness statements, what matters is the probative value of the requirement
Caution - acts as a check for the donor against rash or hasty action forcing the donor to think about what they are doing
Channelling - bringing all this together for everyone to see and understand
Types of Property
Real property - Land, freehold and leasehold
Personal Property - Property other that land
Tangible Property/ Chattels/ Choses in Possession - physical personal property
Intangible Property/ Choses in Action - Personal property without physical form
Statutory Rules for Transferring Property - Land
- To transfer a legal interest a deed is needed and registration at land registration for registered land
- Deed needs to be in writing, signed and witnessed
- Law of property Act 1925, ss 52, 53, 54
- Law Registration Act 2002
- Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989, ss 1, 2 - Contract for the sale of land needs to be in signed and writing
Statutory Rules for Transferring Property - Wills
- Formal document that needs to be signed by the testator and witnessed
- Wills Act 1837, s 9
Statutory Rules for Transferring Property - Miscellaneous
- Requirement of writing for the transfer of a debt. Debt can be bought and sold.
- Debt: Law of Property Act 1925, s 136
- Shares: Stock Transfer Act 1963
- Shares have formalities for the transfer
Tangible Personal Property (Choses in possession) (How to make one)
- Deed of gift - Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989, s 1
- Or, less formally - Delivery (in a legally recognised form), Intention to give (by donor), Acceptance (by donee)
- Contract of sale? - Not a gift
Why Intention and Delivery? -Intention to make an immediate gift
- It is needed to distinguish from loan, pledge, trust, etc
- Delivery is needed for policy reasons. Easier to prove everything with receipt.
- Re Ridgway - “as there own” – immediate intention to give. Inference from words and conduct is that this was not an immediate give it was a future gift. no delivery.
- Day v Royal College of Music – “etcetera” include the manuscripts because of objective interpretation and reasonable person interpret the situation
Actual Delivery
- Physically handing over the object itself
- Re Cole
- Cochrane v Moore
Symbolic Delivery
- Property is physically devisable.
- Delivering a part of the property that symbolises the gift
- Lock v Heath
- Rawlinson v Mort (1905) 119 LT 263, 21 TLR 774 (KB)
Constructive Delivery
- No physical delivery
- Wrightson v McArthur and Hutchinson – pledge not a gift.
- Thomas v Times Book Company
Acceptance presumed
Donees acceptance to the gift is not required to be expressed, though they can actively express refusal which prevents title passing
Strong v Bird
- Strong v Bird - debt owed by the doner to the donee
- Exception to the requirement of delivery only, intention is still needed.
- The doner dies and the donee is the executer of the estate
- Applied to bonds and land, too (Re Stewart & Re James)
- And applies to administrators as well as executors (Re Gonin)
The Rule in Re Rose
- The ‘last act’ doctrine
- the donner has done everything in their power to complete the transfer even if the rest of the procedure or formalities had not been followed equity would ‘perfect an imperfect gift and the transfer of property will be complete in equity even if not at common law’
Re Fry
- died before consent was obtained.
- There was no transfer of title because the problem was the treasury might not have given that consent
- compare to re rose
Mascall v Mascall
Includes registered land