Also known as:donations inter vivos · inter vivos donation · inter vivos donations · inter vivos gift
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A contract by which a person, called the donor, gratuitously divests himself, at present and irrevocably, of the thing given in favor of another, called the donee, who accepts it. The transfer must occur during the donor's lifetime and requires mutual agreement on the donative character of the conveyance.
Sources & Authorities
How it applies
Common Examples
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Wire Transfer Reduces Specific Devise
Derek Douglas executed a will leaving Denise Donovan a specific devise of one hundred thousand dollars with the residue to Daniel Diaz. Several months later Derek wired seventy five thousand dollars to Denise. The memo on the wire read advance on legacy. Derek has died. The estate asserts the transfer satisfied the devise in part. Because the memo constitutes a contemporaneous writing by the testator indicating that the donation inter vivos was intended to operate in satisfaction of the devise, the remaining amount due to Denise is reduced to twenty five thousand dollars.
Lifetime Transfer Offsets Intestate Share
Darrell Duncan died intestate survived by his children Delilah Duran and Daphne Doyle. Two years earlier Darrell wired Delilah one hundred fifty thousand dollars to help her buy a house. Delilah emailed that she was grateful to receive part of her inheritance early. Darrell responded with a thumbs-up reaction. Because the email supplies a written acknowledgment by the heir that the donation inter vivos counts against her share, the transfer is treated as an advancement reducing Delilah's portion of the estate.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Restatements
Study Supplements
Irby v. Estate of Irby7 So. 3d 223 (Miss. 2009)
Common questions
Frequently Asked
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What writing is required for a donation inter vivos to adeem a devise by satisfaction?+
The Restatement rule requires either a contemporaneous writing by the testator or a written acknowledgment by the devisee indicating that the gift is intended to operate in satisfaction of the devise. The testator's own notation on a wire transfer memo stating advance on legacy satisfies the requirement when made at the time of the transfer.
Supporting sources
Does a donation inter vivos to an heir automatically reduce the heir's intestate share?+
No. Modern statutes reject any automatic presumption. The transfer qualifies as an advancement only when the decedent declares in a contemporaneous writing or the heir acknowledges in writing that the gift is to be taken into account in dividing the estate.
Supporting sources
Must the devisee sign an acknowledgment for the donation inter vivos to trigger ademption by satisfaction?+
No. The testator's own contemporaneous writing is independently sufficient under the Restatement. The devisee's later email treating the funds as a bonus does not negate the effect of the testator's memo.
Supporting sources
How does the standard for mental capacity differ for an irrevocable donation inter vivos compared to a will?+
The donor must possess the capacity to make or revoke a will plus the additional ability to understand the gift's effect on the donor's future financial security and that of any dependents.
Supporting sources
59 Cal. Rptr. 2d 222 (Cal. Ct. App. 1996)Family Law
…in, or right to distribution of, the sperm; it was gifted to her at the time of its deposit into the sperm bank and is either an inter vivos gift or a gift causa mortis. Hecht also maintained that even if the semen is an asset of the estate, the estate should be directed to distribute it to her because (1) the parties entered into a…
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