INFORMAL GIFTS OF CHOSES IN ACTION

Abstract

To what extent are informal gifts of choses in action binding on the donor? To what extent is a voluntary equitable assignment of a chose in action enforceable against the assignor? It is well-established that declarations of trust, by which the owner of a chose in action constitutes him or her self trustee for another, need neither consideration nor any special form for their validity. This leaves two classes to consider: the gift of a chose in action to a donee without consideration and without complying with all the statutory formalities, and the placing a chose of action with another person in trust for a third. Does equity assist a volunteer? Cheshire and Fifoot thought it did. But they were prophets, not recorders of the law. One can only hope, writes L.A. Sheridan, that their prophecies come true.