O.C.G.A.
O.C.G.A.

O.C.G.A. § 44-5-87 (2019)

Implied trust on failure of specific purpose for which gift made

✓ O.C.G.A.: 2019 edition (Public.Resource.Org Release 73)
Code text and O.C.G.A. statutory annotations on this page reflect the 2019 Official Code of Georgia Annotated (Public.Resource.Org Release 73, 2019-08-21; public domain per Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). The Syfert case-law annotations in Notes of Decisions, below, are current.
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section GA-LEGlegis.ga.gov (official) JustiaJustia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

If a gift is made for a specific purpose which is either expressed or is secretly understood and the purpose is illegal or from some other cause fails or cannot be accomplished, the donee shall hold the object of the gift as trustee for the donor or his next of kin.

History

(Orig. Code 1863, § 2625; Code 1868, § 2625; Code 1873, § 2667; Code 1882, § 2667; Civil Code 1895, § 3573; Civil Code 1910, § 4153; Code 1933, § 48-108.)

Annotations

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Deed in consideration of immoral or illegal thing constitutes contract. - Deed executed and delivered in consideration to do an immoral or illegal thing is not a gift, but an executed contract founded upon a consideration. Watkins v. Nugen, 118 Ga. 372, 45 S.E. 262 (1903).

No failure to use for designated purpose. - When designated gifts were to be made from the proceeds of a sale of property donated to a charitable remainder unitrust, there was no failure to use the sale proceeds for specific charities when no sale had occurred. Powell v. Emory Univ., 268 Ga. 658, 492 S.E.2d 874 (1997).

"Best interest of creditors" test under 11 U.S.C. § 1325(a)(4) was not met by the proposed plan of Chapter 13 debtors because the plan did not account for the recoverable value of the debtor's transfer of the debtor's interest in property given to the debtor by the debtor's mother. An implied trust under O.C.G.A. § 44-5-87 did not exist when the specific purpose of the mother's gift was to transfer the property to her sons outside of probate while continuing to reside in the house, and that purpose was accomplished. Meredith v. Weigl (In re Weigl), Bankr. (Bankr. S.D. Ga. Jan. 18, 2011).

Unclean hands. - Equity will not declare an implied trust in a case of unclean hands. Morgan v. Wright, 219 Ga. 385, 133 S.E.2d 341 (1963).

Gifts made in contemplation of marriage are subject to an implied condition that the gifts are to be returned if the donee breaks the engagement, which rule applies to real estate as well as personalty; in a proper case equity will take jurisdiction to enforce a reconveyance. Guffin v. Kelly, 191 Ga. 880, 14 S.E.2d 50 (1941).

Cited in Hollomon v. Board of Educ., 168 Ga. 359, 147 S.E. 882 (1929); Morgan v. Hutcheson, 195 Ga. 123, 23 S.E.2d 406 (1942).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

ALR. - Right of parent as against creditor or lienor to make gift to minor child of latter's own services, 44 A.L.R. 876.

Validity and construction of statutes discountenancing donations, testamentary or otherwise, between persons living in concubinage or otherwise sustaining immoral relations, 62 A.L.R. 286.

Gift by husband as fraud on wife, 64 A.L.R. 466; 49 A.L.R.2d 521.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 5 cases, 1997–2019 · leading case: Shadder v. Holland, 828 S.E.2d 418 (Ga. Ct. App. 2019).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Shadder v. Holland, 828 S.E.2d 418 (Ga. Ct. App. 2019). · cites it 8× “After conducting only limited written discovery, Holland moved for partial summary judgment in her favor on her claims for money had and received, unjust enrichment, and imposition of a trust under OCGA § 44-5-87. Although the trial court heard oral argument on the motion, a…”
Choi v. Immanuel Korean United Methodist Church, 755 S.E.2d 354 (Ga. Ct. App. 2014). · cites it 6× “OCGA § 44-5-87 provides that: “[i]f a gift is made for a specific purpose which is either expressed or is secretly understood and the purpose is illegal or from some other cause fails or cannot be accomplished, the donee shall hold the object of the gift as trustee for the donor…”
Heather Nicole Shadder v. Naomi Holland (Ga. Ct. App. 2019). · cites it 8× “After conducting only limited written discovery, Holland moved for partial summary judgment in her favor on her claims for money had and received, unjust enrichment, and imposition of a trust under OCGA § 44-5-87. Although the trial court heard oral argument on the motion, a…”
Powell v. Emory Univ., 492 S.E.2d 874 (Ga. 1997). · cites it 14× “Powell argues that under these circumstances, OCGA § 44-5-87 requires that the property be conveyed to him.”
Woo-Baeg Choi v. Immanuel Korean United Methodist Church (Ga. Ct. App. 2014). · cites it 6× “OCGA § 44-5-87 provides that: “[i]f a gift is made for a specific purpose which is either expressed or is secretly understood and the purpose is illegal or from some other cause fails or cannot be accomplished, the donee shall hold the object of the gift as trustee for the donor…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.