Cowdrey v. Barksdale

1. The alleged gift could not be construed as a donatio causa mortis; because the law is well settled that, to constitute a donatio causa mortis, the gift must not only be made by a person during his last illness, or in peril of death, but must be intended to be absolute only in the event of death (Civil Code, § 4154); and in this case the evidence, as disclosed by the record, did not show these necessary facts. It follows that the gift, if one was made, must be regarded as a gift inter vivos; An essential element of a valid gift is the delivery of the article given, or some act accepted by…