Spring Semester 2013
Causa Mortis Gifts
Reading Assignment -- Pages 219-228
1. What is the distinction between a causa mortis gift and a testamentary gift? Is there any GOOD reason that the law should allow donors to make causa mortis gifts? Why or why not?
2. In Scherer v. Hyland, the court's concludes that Wagner's suicide note was insufficient to constitute a valid gift of all of her assets to Scherer (p. 222), but that the note and her action of indorsing the check and leaving it on her table for Scherer to find was a sufficient act to constitute a valid gift of the check. Is the distinction between the check and her other assets a principled or sensible distinction? Why or why not?
3. Can you reconcile the Evans and Scherer cases in terms of their approach to the delivery requirement, or are they fundamentally inconsistent?
4. Consider the problem in the Lawyering Exercise on pages 226. How would you present the facts if you were arguing the case for Tom Davis? If you were arguing the case for Anne Jones?