## Facts

- Catherine Wagner and Robert Scherer lived together for about 15 years.
- After a 1970 car accident left Wagner with severe mobility impairment, Scherer cared for her and supported the household financially.
- In the weeks before her death, Wagner was acutely depressed and made a prior suicide attempt.
- On the morning of January 23, 1974, Wagner received a $17,400 settlement check from her personal-injury claim.
- Wagner later committed suicide by jumping from the roof of their apartment building.
- Police entered the shared apartment and found the settlement check on the kitchen table, endorsed in blank, along with two handwritten notes.
- One note discussed Wagner’s depression, expressed love for Scherer, and asked forgiveness; the other stated she “bequeathed” Scherer all her possessions, including the $17,400 check.
- Police took the check and placed it in an interest-bearing account pending resolution of the ownership dispute.

## Issues

1. Whether Wagner’s handwritten notes were effective as a will or codicil under New Jersey’s Statute of Wills.
2. If not, whether Wagner made a valid gift causa mortis of the settlement check, specifically whether the delivery requirement was satisfied without manual transfer.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court of New Jersey held the notes did not comply with statutory will formalities and were not a valid testamentary disposition.
- The court affirmed summary judgment for Scherer, holding Wagner made a valid gift causa mortis of the $17,400 check.
- The court concluded delivery was satisfied by constructive or symbolic delivery given the endorsed check, the written direction to Scherer, and the surrounding circumstances.

## Legal Principles

- A gift causa mortis requires intent to make a gift, contemplation of impending death, delivery, and acceptance.
- Delivery is assessed in light of the circumstances; it is not limited to manual transfer in all cases.
- Constructive or symbolic delivery can satisfy delivery where there is unequivocal proof of a deliberate donative intent and a present intent to part with a substantial attribute of ownership.
- Courts may be more willing to accept constructive delivery when objective circumstances minimize the risk of fraud and corroborate the donor’s intent.
- Endorsing a check in blank and placing it where the intended donee is expected to find it can constitute surrender of dominion and control sufficient for delivery in a gift causa mortis.

## Conclusion

The court held that although the decedent’s suicide notes were not a valid will, her endorsement of the settlement check and written direction leaving it to her cohabitant, coupled with circumstances showing clear intent and minimal fraud risk, satisfied constructive delivery and effected a valid gift causa mortis.


Scherer v. Hyland, 75 N.J. 127, 380 A.2d 698 (N.J. 1977)