Suicide and Gifts Causa Mortis

Adam MacLeod (Associate Professor of Law, Faulkner University, Jones School of Law) has recently published his article entitled A Gift Worth Dying For? Debating the Volitional Nature of Suicide in the Law of Personal Property, 45 Idaho L. Rev. 93 (2008).

Here is an excerpt from the article’s introduction:

This article addresses the enforceability of gifts of personal property made conditional upon acts of suicide and the attendant debate that has surfaced in the last three decades over the volitional nature of suicide. Section two discusses the law of gifts causa mortis generally and places the doctrine within its context in personal property law. Section three examines the traditional rule that these gifts are not enforceable, the justifications for the rule, and some criticisms.

 

Section four tests the more recent, modern rule that all gifts made in contemplation of suicide are enforceable and the assumption on which the new rule is predicated, namely that all suicides are wholly non-volitional acts and are products of mental or emotional infirmities. This article tests the assumption against human experience, other bodies of law, and the best contemporary learning of psychology and sociology.

 

Section five offers a new understanding of the traditional rule (voiding gifts conditioned upon suicide), answers a strong doctrinal criticism, and attempts to fashion a more advanced version of the traditional rule, which avoids the shortcomings of both the traditional rule and the modern rule. That section posits a stronger doctrinal basis for the traditional rule: strict adherence to the Statute of Wills best protects the donor’s intentions. Section five also examines a stronger policy basis for the traditional rule, namely that the traditional rule, like parallel doctrines in tort law, criminal law, and insurance law, affirms the intrinsic value of each human person. This teaching helps promote a cultural commitment to the dignity of all human persons and informs contemporary debates on more complex problems, such as the question whether our nation recognizes a fundamental right to assisted suicide. This article concludes with a proposed revision of the traditional rule that is intended to reflect and advance contemporary learning about suicide.