(758) 468-3200
Government Saint Lucia
 
 
 
Home
/
Departments
/
Legislative Drafting
/
Revised Laws of Saint Lucia
/
CIVIL CODE OF SAINT LUCIA
/
Section VI   Gifts by contract of marriage whether of present property or made in contemplation of death

Revised Laws of Saint Lucia (2022)

saint Lucia
back arrow Back to Revised Laws of Saint Lucia (2022)
back arrow Back to Table of Contents

Section VI   Gifts by contract of marriage whether of present property or made in contemplation of death

  1.  

    757.   The rules concerning gifts inter vivos apply to those which are made by contract of marriage, with such modifications as result from special provisions.

  1.  

    758.   Any person, a future spouse included, may in a contract of marriage give to the future husband or wife or to both of them, or to the children to be born of their marriage, the whole of a portion of his or her present property, or of the property he or she may leave at his or her death, or of both together.

  1.  

    759.   Any person, a future spouse included, in any contract of marriage by which he has conferred benefit on the future husband or wife or both of them, or their children, may make any gift involving immediate transfer of property to any third person, whether a relation or stranger. But gifts to third persons, intended to take effect after the death of the donor are void, except when made by an ascendant in favour of the brother or sister of the future spouse in a marriage contract, when such spouse is also benefited.

  1.  

    760.   A gift of present property by contract of marriage is, like any other, subject to acceptance inter vivos. The acceptance is presumed in the cases mentioned in the Second Section of this Chapter. A third party not present at the execution of the deed may accept, either before or after the marriage, a gift made in his or her favour.

  1.  

    761.   A gift by contract of marriage of present or future property is valid, even as regards third parties, only in the event of the marriage taking place. If the donor or the third party who has accepted the gift die before the marriage, the gift is not void, but remains suspended by the condition that the marriage will take place.

  1.  

    762.   A gift of present property by contract of marriage cannot be revoked by the donor, even as regards third parties benefited who have not yet accepted, except under a resolutive condition validly stipulated.

  1.  

    A gift in contemplation of death, made in such a contract, is irrevocable in so far that the donor, without legal grounds or a valid resolutive condition, cannot revoke it, nor dispose of the given property by gift inter vivos or by will except in small amounts, by way of recompense or otherwise. He or she remains nevertheless owner in other respects of the property thus given and may dispose of it by onerous title and for his or her own benefit. Even if the gift in contemplation of death be universal he or she may acquire and possess property and dispose of it under the foregoing restrictions, and may contract, otherwise than by gratuitous title, obligations which affect the property thus given.

  1.  

    763.   It may be stipulated that a gift, either of present property or in contemplation of death, made in a contract of marriage, shall be suspended, revocable, reducible, or subject to changeable or indeterminate reservations and rights of resumption, although the effect of the stipulation depends upon the will of the donor. If, in the case of reservations and of a right of resumption, the donor do not exercise his or her right, the donee retains the full benefit of the gift to the exclusion of the heir of the donor.

  1.  

    764.   A gift by contract of marriage may be made subject to the charge of paying the debts due by the donor at the time of his or her death, whether they are determinate or not.

  1.  

    In the case of a universal gift or a general gift of future property, or of present and future property together, this obligation, without stipulation to that effect, falls on the donee in proportion to what he or she receives.

  1.  

    765.   The donee, however, after the death of the donor, in the case of a gift made wholly in contemplation of death, and so long as he or she has not otherwise accepted, may free himself or herself from the debts by renouncing the gift, after making an inventory and rendering an account, and by giving back any property of the donor remaining in his possession, or which he or she may have alienated or mixed up with his or her own.

  1.  

    766.   When present and future property is conveyed by the same gift, the donee after the death of the donor, and so long as he or she has not accepted otherwise the property given in contemplation of death, may free himself or herself from the debts of the donor, other than those for which he or she is liable in respect of the property given him or her, by renouncing in the same manner the property given in contemplation of death, and restricting himself or herself to the present property.

  1.  

    767.   The donee may also at the same time renounce the present property and free himself or herself from all liability, by making an inventory, rendering an account, and returning the property given in the manner provided in respect of gifts in general.

  1.  

    768.   Gifts in contemplation of death made in favour of future spouses, or of one of them, are always, in the event of the donor surviving the spouse benefited, presumed in the absence of express stipulation to be made in favour of the children to be born of the marriage.

  1.  

    The gift becomes extinct if, when the donor dies, neither the spouses or spouse benefited, nor any children of theirs be living.

  1.  

    769.   Gifts in contemplation of death made by contract of marriage, may be expressed in the terms of a gift, of an appointment of heir, of a legacy, or in any other terms which indicate the intentions of the donor. (Amended by Act 34 of 1956)

Address

2nd Floor Francis Compton Building, 
Waterfront,
Castries, Saint Lucia

Need help?

Site Map

HomeAbout AG OfficeDepartmentsAccessibilityContact Us

Quick Links

Inland Revenue Department of Government of Saint Lucia (IRD)Government of Saint Lucia Citizenship by Investment Financial Intelligence Authority

Important Links

CARICOMOECSFSRA
 
© 2025 Attorney General's Chambers
Site by