## Facts

- David F. Oaks and Lynne Stouff were longtime romantic partners who lived together for about ten years; Oaks had an adult, estranged daughter, Cheri R. Wardell.
- Oaks suffered from PTSD and depression and was receiving treatment.
- On March 7, 2018, Oaks wrote and signed handwritten notes stating that, as he was leaving existence, he wanted all his worldly belongings assigned to Stouff.
- In the early morning of March 8, 2018, Oaks died at home from a self-inflicted gunshot wound; the notes were found at the scene.
- Oaks left no formal will; Wardell was appointed personal representative and sought intestate distribution.
- Stouff filed a claim asserting the entire estate passed to her as a gift causa mortis based on the notes.

## Issues

1. Whether a donor’s contemplated death by suicide can satisfy the “impending death from a present illness or external peril” element required for a valid gift causa mortis.
2. Whether, on these facts, Oaks’s handwritten notes and conduct established the elements of a gift causa mortis sufficient to transfer his entire estate to Stouff notwithstanding intestacy and will-execution formalities.

## Decision

- The Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment awarding the entire estate to Stouff.
- The court held that gift causa mortis may apply where the donor’s impending death is a planned suicide causally linked to a present mental illness.
- The court concluded the record established donative intent, contemplation of imminent death, sufficient delivery, and death from the contemplated cause.

## Legal Principles

- A gift causa mortis is a conditional gift of personal property made in contemplation of imminent death from a present illness or external peril, effective only if the donor dies from that cause and revocable if the donor survives.
- Suicide is not categorically excluded from the doctrine when the suicide is connected to a present mental illness that constitutes the contemplated “present illness.”
- Clear written expression of donative intent made immediately before death can satisfy intent and contemplation requirements.
- Delivery for gift causa mortis may be satisfied by constructive delivery where the donor’s actions and placement of the writing make the transfer effective in the circumstances.
- Gift causa mortis operates as a limited exception to will-formality rules when its strict elements are met, and may defeat intestate succession.

## Conclusion

The court enforced Oaks’s handwritten, near-death transfer as a valid gift causa mortis, holding that a contemplated suicide linked to a present mental illness can meet the doctrine’s “present illness or external peril” requirement and permit transfer of the donor’s property to the intended recipient outside the statutory will process.


In re Estate of Oaks, 944 N.W.2d 611 (Wis. Ct. App. 2020)