Gifts. James Wilson learned that he had terminal cancer in 1983 or 1984. At about that time, he arranged for a friend, Harold Buell, to have joint access to Wilson's safe-deposit box. Wilson gave Buell a key. The box contained, among other things, a
copy of a promissory note for $65,000 from Michael Cronan. Wilson told Buell that the debt represented by the note was to be forgiven when he died and that on Wilson's death, Buell was to deliver the copy of the note to Cronan. In 1984, Cronan learned of Wilson's illness, and Wilson told Cronan on at least two occasions that Cronan's debt was to be forgiven on Wilson's death. In the meantime, Cronan continued to make payments on the note. Wilson died in July 1987. On the day after Wilson died, Buell delivered the copy of the note to Cronan, as directed. Wilson's personal representative (a person appointed to look after the deceased's affairs), Carol Kesterson, sought to recover from Cronan the balance owing on the $65,000 note, the original of which was found among Wilson's personal effects after his death. Cronan claimed that the debt had been forgiven, as a gift to Cronan. Were the requirements of a gift satisfied? How should this case be resolved? Discuss fully.
Gifts
The trial court held that the gift had not been adequately delivered before Wilson's death, and therefore Cronan was liable on the debt. Cronan appealed. The appellate court affirmed the decision of the trial court, ruling that Wilson's gift to Cronan—the forgiveness of Cronan's debt—was never adequately delivered to Cronan during Wilson's lifetime. Even though Cronan argued that Wilson had delivered the envelope to Buell, who was acting as Cronan's agent, the court noted that the evidence did not support the finding that an agency relationship between Buell and Cronan existed. No evidence indicated that Cronan knew that Buell had the key to the safe deposit box or that he had possession of the envelope or even that Cronan give instructions to Buell. Because Buell acted on Wilson's instructions and essentially served as Wilson's agent, the court found that there was no delivery of the note to Cronan before Wilson died. Because Wilson's attempted testamentary gift was not accompanied by a writing executed with the formalities of a will, the attempted gift failed.
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