An analysis of gifts Inter Vivos under the Statutory Law of Inheritance

Abstract

acquisition of an unexpired lease on a property or even an outright sale of the property. 
Inheritance is the devolution of property on an heir or heirs, upon the death of the owner. 
However, property can be passed to another while the owner is still alive and not as sale but 
as a gift inter vivos. It is a transfer of property while the owner of the property is still alive 
which ordinarily would have formed part of the assets of the estate of the owner when he 
eventually dies. The aim of this study is to analyse the legal implications of a transfer of an 
inter vivos gift and compare it to a testamentary disposition of assets. The methodology 
adopted in this research is a qualitative research with the use of materials from primary and 
secondary sources providing a detailed study on inter vivos gifts, the elements, the 
requirements, challenges associated with this method of disposition of assets and how to 
revoke an inter vivos gift as well as its enforcement even after the death of the donor. This 
paper also proposes and recommends to incorporate the disposition of a gift inter vivos into 
a testamentary distribution of assets in order to give the transaction more legal protection 
while seeking to enforce it. The general notion that a gift inter vivos of land should be 
supported by legal documentation is laudable however, this paper will demonstrate the 
necessity for such a gift to also be included in the Will or any other document apart from the 
transaction papers