''Re Cole'' (

964 Year 964 ( CMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events Byzantine Empire * Arab–Byzantine War: Emperor Nikephoros II continues the reconquest of south-eastern Anatolia (modern Turkey). He recaptures Cyp ...

1 Ch 175, CA) also known as ''ex p. Trustee v Cole'' is a case in

English property law English property law is the law of acquisition, sharing and protection of valuable assets in England and Wales. While part of the United Kingdom, many elements of Scots property law are different. In England, property law encompasses four main t ...

dealing with the transfer of

gifts A gift or present is an item given to someone (who is not already the owner) without the expectation of payment or anything in return. Although gift-giving might involve an expectation of reciprocity, a gift is intended to be free. In many cou ...

Facts

Mr Cole bought, furnished and equipped a large house in London as the family home, costing him £20,000 overall. Later that year, his wife came to London to move into their new home. He said to her 'look, it's all yours'. Subsequently, Mr Cole went

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the de ...

and the contents of the home were claimed. However, Mrs Cole claimed that they had been gifted to her.

Judgment

The case establishes that a gift of chattels cannot be perfected by showing them to a donee and stating words of gift. In order to establish a gift there are three requirements. Namely, perfecting a gift requires 1)

Intention An intention is a mental state in which a person commits themselves to a course of action. Having the plan to visit the zoo tomorrow is an example of an intention. The action plan is the ''content'' of the intention while the commitment is the ...

2) Delivery and 3) Acceptance. In this case Mr Cole had, by words, shown intention to make a gift to Mrs Cole. He had not however, delivered anything to her, and she had not accepted anything. Therefore, in this case it was held that physical delivery (and some form of acceptance) is required by law to perfect a gift.

Facts

Judgment

Further reading