§ IV. What Form Is Prescribed by Our Law for a Valid Donation

885. • 1. For donation inter vivos a perfect or real donation is required and suffices; but an imperfect or verbal donation does not suffice.² Cf. n. 878.

2. For donation in prospect of death there is required either a solemn contract (n. 828, 3°) or writing, or the handing over of the thing, or a trustworthy document of this handing over.³

Query. What must be established for the internal forum concerning the value of an informal donation?

Resp. Distinguish. Either it is a question of a donation to pious causes, and it is valid for the internal forum (cf. n. 882, q. 2°), or of a donation to profane causes, and it seems that the sentence of the judge is required for it to be invalidated for the internal forum; for it scarcely seems able to be supposed that the law wished to impose so hard a burden on subjects, that they should be bound in conscience, of their own accord, and without any intervention of the judge, to renounce favors offered to themselves, and this only on account of defect of some formality. Whence for practice, and unless a verbal or imperfect donation is a promise rather than a true donation (n. 878), we think it must be established that donees, with every fraud excluded, can licitly acquire from an informal donation and retain what has been accepted, until those whose interest it is juridically seek the invalidation of such a donation.