Gift on the Occasion of Death.

A gift on the occasion of death (donatio mortis causa) in Roman law was a contractual disposition, made during the life of the donor, and in his contemplation of his own death, which took effect upon the donor's death. The donee had no claim against the donor during the donor's life. Only on the occasion of the donor's death, had the donee assumed property rights over the subject matter of the gift. The transfer of property was conditional upon the donee outliving the donor. In contrast, a post-mortem gift (donatio post mortem) a contract modality with a suspensive term (délai suspensif). It gave the donee the claim against the donor during the donor's lifetime, but delayed until the occasion of the donor's death. Here, the transfer of property rights was not conditional upon the donee outliving the donor, as the donnee's inheritors could succeed to his rights against the donor. A post-mortem gift and a gift on the occasion of death had significantly different legal effects in Roman law. Still, the confusion among the two is not uncommon in contemporary legal doctrine and legislation. For instance, some agreements are sometimes labeled as gifts on the occasion of death, even though they do not possess characteristics of the Roman donatio mortis causa. On the other hand, a post-mortem gift is occasionally being assigned certain characteristics, which are in fact typical for a gifts on the occasion of death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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