Thank you for sharing your thoughts here Vinetta! You have made a great point about the concept of the gift from Scott to Mary. Canadian Common Law views gifts in two ways: donatio mortis causa and inter vivos. Each type requires certain conditions to be met.

Taken from the Department of Justice (2021):

" a gift is the voluntary and gratuitous transfer of property.[59] Furthermore, the donor must not draw any personal benefit, either directly or indirectly, in consideration for the transfer.[60] The gesture must be entirely gratuitous and a reflection of liberal intent on the part of the donor in regard to the donee."

donatio mortis causa

"In addition to the liberal intent, donatio mortis causa should meet three other conditions in order to be valid [...] first, the gift or donation must have been made in contemplation, though not necessarily in expectation, of death; secondly, there must have been delivery to the donee of the subject-matter of the gift; and thirdly, the gift must be made under such circumstances as shew that the thing is to revert to the donor in case he should recover."

inter vivos

"Three conditions must be met for a gift inter vivos to be valid.[66] The first one is that the individual making the transfer actually intends to make a gift; it must be demonstrated that the donor's objective was to make a gift when he or she transferred the property.[67] The second condition is that the donee accepts the gift made to him or her; the donee must agree to the transfer of property that the donor made in his or her favour.[68] [Finally], the donor has to divest him or herself of the property; he or she has to place it in the possession of the donee. This delivery confirms the donor's intent to make the gift[70] "

Given the information above, what are your thoughts on which would be applicable to the Scott / Mary situation?

I look forward to seeing the discussion evolve!