A Deed of Gift is a signed legal document voluntarily and without recompense transfers ownership of real, personal, or intellectual property – such as a gift of materials – from one institution to another, includes possible conditions and factors specifying access, use, preservation, etc. of the gift, although these are discouraged by recipient institutions, should mention that the deed has been made out of the donor’s own choice and action. Though it is not compulsory to execute a gift deed while gifting any asset but does create a valid documentary record for movable or immovable property that need to be transferable and tangible according to their expectancy.
As gifting is a voluntary action, the gift deed should mention without any force or coercion that declared the donor is solvent (not bankrupt) and the gift is being made or drafted without any consideration but with the donor’s choice in respect to its accessibility and action.
The next step could be probably the acceptance of the gift by the Receiver where it is to be recorded by the receiver’s signature and is substantiated by the acceptance of possession of the gift. Since, the-another key element to this step is that the acceptance of gift should happen during the life expenditure of the donor and are rendered invalid otherwise.
Gifts that involve immovable property should be registered under the Transfer of Property Act, unless the registration is completed of the gift deed and the title does not pass on to the receiver. The Stamp duty shall be payable based on the value of the gift to ascertain fair value of the immovable property for the calculation of stamp duty, seek approval by the valuation of experts, to carry out the property efficiencies. Once a gift deed of an immovable property is executed in favour of recipient, the donor does not have the right to revoke or cancel unless there is a specific clause mentioned in the deed that they have to experience further. For instance, if the property was gifted, upon death of the recipient, the property will get transferred back to the donor if he/she is alive, else to the heirs of the recipient.
Services provided by Property Documentation
We at property documentation can help you get your paper work and execution for the following:
- Gift Deed in Delhi
- Gift Deed in Noida and Greater Noida
- Gift Deed in Ghaziabad
Want to know about the Gift Deed Act through Primer?
Humans like to gift to their loved ones, although it is common only few of us understand the legal importance and implications of gifting is through the gift deeds and the process scores above drafting “Will” in some respect. It is a legal document that transfers the gift without any exchange of money and charges, but the donor must be solvent and should not use the tool of tax evasion. Anything that qualifies as gift must have a well defined existing movable or immovable property and must be transferable opting the Act of Property Transfer.
Should exist today and should not be a future property with a good tangible property in its showcase. A gift deed is drafted with the help of a lawyer describing what is being transferred and to whom according to the possession of law and act. Gift Deed can be considered as a contract between the donor and the receiver defines the reciprocal act of giving and taking.
As per Section 123 of the Transfer of Property Act, a gift of immovable property cannot pass any title to the receiver unless it is registered, although the attestation by two witnesses is required and mandatory during the registration and post registration.
Legally speaking person who owns the product or the property can make a gift to any other person with the exception rule of either the donor or the receiver is a minor. Since minors are not eligible to contract; therefore, they cannot transfer property as a gift that is a huge limitation for the minor group. In case of a receiver being a minor, a natural guardian accepts the gift on his/her behalf. Guardian acts as a manager of the gifted property, and if the gift is onerous, the obligation cannot be enforced on receiver until he/she is a minor. Once the receiver is an adult, he/she must either accept the burden or return the gift.
Is it mandatory to lead evidence of Attesting Witness to prove Gift Deed?
The Supreme Court held that unless the execution of a Gift Deed is specifically denied, it is not mandatory and judgemental to specifically lead the evidence of an attesting witness under Section 68 of the Indian Evidence Act to prove the Gift Deed. The Gift Deed was challenged for several factors assaulting the government by the appellants on various grounds in favour of the appellants for the ruling by the trial court and the first appellate court were set aside by the Gujarat High Court, that held the execution of the gift deed was not specifically denied in the suit field. Therefore, it is not necessary for the Receiver to examine any of the attesting witnesses in terms of proviso to Section 68 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.
The Court made it clear that a statement in the cross-examination that there was partition between the Donor and the Receiver, will not make the property ancestral in the hands of the Donor that is quite specific to the topic.
The burden of proof that the property was ancestral was on the plaintiffs alone, intended to convey the property for the benefit so as to be treated as ancestral property in absence of any such averments or proof instead of the presence that they hold for the benefits, the Court concluded that the property in the hands of Donor has to be treated as self-acquired property and competent to deal without any legal issues.
It was argued that the attesting witnesses of the document were not examined which is a mandatory requirement to prove execution of the gift deed in terms of Section 68 of the Evidence Act, where the High Court turned down the argument with the evidence that signature is mandatory for any comparison either for both the property holders, donor and the receiver. Section 68 of the Evidence Act makes it mandatory to examine the attesting witnesses for the purpose of proving of the execution of the Will but such limitations of execution document in accordance with the provisions is not at all applicable at any mark.
Can a Gift Deed be challenged in India?
The Gift deed can be certainly questioned in the court of law by filling a suit for such declaration. However, it will be challenged only if able to establish the execution of the deed was not as per the wish or want of the donor in respect of a person’s right to property or his/her status.
Any person entitled to any legal character, or to any right to a property suits against any other person denying or interested to deny for the title to such character or right independent of the fact of deed.
A gift, which was not based on fraud, undue influence or misrepresentation nor was an onerous, cannot be cancelled unilaterally but can be bilaterally with a proof. Such a gift deed can be cancelled only by resorting to legal remedy and legal assault, requires the supervision of experts for the purpose of drafting and executing with the experiences in handling professionally.