“Three elements must be satisfied in order for an inter vivos gift to be valid: a specific intention to make a gift by the donor, delivery of the gift, and acceptance by the donee: McNamee v. McNamee, 2011 ONCA 533, at para. 43.
The recipient of the gift bears the onus of establishing all three elements of an inter vivos gift: Carvalho v. Verma, 2024 ONSC 1183, at para. 50.
The Court must engage in a contextual analysis, weighing all the available evidence in order to ascertain, on a balance of probabilities, the donor’s actual intention with respect to making a gift: Pecore v. Pecore, 2007 SCC 17, at para. 44.
In determining intent, the Court must examine the balance of the evidence to determine what the intention was with respect to the gift. It is specifically the intention of the transferor that is relevant: MacIntyre v. Winter, 2021 ONCA 516, at para. 24. This requires clear, convincing and cogent evidence that there was an intention to make a gift: Walker v. Faarsijani, 2021 ONSC 5571, at para. 19.
It is the transferor’s actual intention at the time of transfer that is the critical consideration: Rascal Trucking Ltd. v. Nishi, 2013 SCC 33, at para. 41.”