A conditional gift is different: if the condition is not fulfilled, the gift is revocable
A worked RES examination question on gifts, from our Paper 1 bank — with the rule it turns on, and why each of the four options is right or wrong.
The question
Mr Selva promises his niece a studio apartment as a wedding gift and duly executes the transfer into her name before the ceremony. Separately, he tells his nephew that a shop unit will become his "on the day you graduate," but hands over nothing in the meantime and signs no papers. The wedding goes ahead as planned. The nephew, however, drops out of university to take a job overseas and never graduates, then asks his uncle for the shop unit anyway, insisting that the promise made to him was every bit as firm as the one made to his cousin.
Which statement is correct?
The answer, and why
Answer: A
The rule. A completed gift is irrevocable. A conditional gift is different: if the condition is not fulfilled, the gift is revocable. Whether a gift has taken effect turns on whether it was completed by transfer and, where a condition attaches, whether that condition was met.
Why A is correct. The apartment was transferred to the niece and the wedding went ahead — a completed gift, irrevocable. The shop unit was promised only on graduation and nothing was handed over; the condition failed, so it need not pass.
The other options.
- B treats a bare promise of a gift as binding. An unperformed promise to give is not an enforceable gift.
- C says all gifts are revocable. A completed, unconditional gift cannot be taken back.
- D reads graduation as a wish rather than a condition, ignoring that nothing was transferred and the condition was expressly set.
Exam note. Separate the completed gift (irrevocable) from the conditional promise (revocable if the condition fails). Delivery and the condition together decide it.
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