Barnum v. Reed

Citations

• 136 Ill. 388
• 26 N.E. 572

Syllabus

<p>1. Adhinisteation of estates-—assets—promissory notes — certificates of deposit. Promissory notes and certificates of deposit payable to a person are prima facie assets of the payee’s estate, and unless said person has in his lifetime made a valid disposition of the same, his executor or administrator will be entitled to the same.</p> <p>2. Gift—elements of a gift—donatio mortis causa•—evidence. The law requires that a gift, whether direct or in trust, shall be established by clear proof, and that no uncertainty shall exist either as to the subject or object of the gift.</p> <p>3. Where property of a deceased person is claimed by either a direct gift or through the medium of a trustee, the burden of proof will rest upon such claimant to establish the gift.</p> <p>4. Declarations of a person a few days before death, that a sister should have pay for all her trouble in taking care of the declarant, and .that she should have all her personal effects, are inadmissible in evidence for the purpose of showing what such person in fact did in respect to her property, by will or by gift.</p> <p>5. The act or acts constituting a gift must be consummated, and not-remain incomplete or rest in mere intention; and this is the rule, whether the gift is by delivery, only, or by the creation of a trust.</p> <p>6. Donatio mortis causa must be a completed and executed gift, the same as in the case of a gift inter vivos. If the gift does not take effect as an executed and completed transfer to the donee, either legally or equitably, during the life of the donor, it is a testamentary disposition, good only when made by a valid will.</p> <p>7. To constitute a valid gift inter vivos, possession and title must pass to and vest in the donee, and it must be irrevocable. In this respect alone does a gift causa mortis differ from one inter vivos.</p> <p>8. The 'donor must part with all control of the property in order to make a valid gift. If he reserves any right or title the gift will not