Marshall,fearing death from severe injuries from a fall at work,assigned a certificate of deposit worth $20,000 to his co-worker and friend,Keith,who gladly accepts.Marshall recovers from the injuries.Why must Keith give the certificate of deposit back to Marshall?
A) This is an inter vivos gift because Marshall was still alive when the gift was made. Any inter vivos gift is revocable because there is no consideration to make delivery of the property binding under contract law.
B) This type of gift is a gift causa mortis. It is a conditional gift which is conditioned on Marshall's actually dying. Because Marshall recovered, the gift is automatically revoked.
C) This is an ordinary gift, but it is revocable because we don't know if the certificate of deposit has matured or not.
D) This is an inter vivos gift and due to state laws, gifts in contemplation of death must be written into a valid will or otherwise the deceased's assets will be distributed according to state statute.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The gift in this scenario is a gift causa mortis, which is a conditional gift that is conditioned on a certain event, in this case, Marshall's death. However, since Marshall recovered from his injuries, the condition was not met, and the gift is automatically revoked.

Marshall,fearing Death from Severe Injuries from a Fall at Work,assigned