The use of Latin terms in law dates back to early common law. Inter vivos refers to transfers of property between living people, commonly used in real estate, living trusts, and organ donation. Inter vivos transfers can have tax benefits, and living organ donation is often for kidneys. Inter vivos trusts avoid probate but restrict the beneficiary’s use of the property.
The application of Latin names to legal concepts is a tradition that dates back to the early developments of the common law. The term inter vivos, which is Latin for “among the living”, is an example of a Latin term used in various aspects of transactional law. It differs from “testamentary” transactions which imply that the transfer will take place after the transferor’s death. The three most common uses of the term are in real estate transactions, setting up a living trust, and organ donation.
An inter vivos transfer is another way of saying that there will be a transfer of land between two people who are still alive. Very often, near-death persons make inter vivos transfers of land that would otherwise be testamentary gifts in their will to the party receiving the land. There are multiple possible reasons for this, though the most common are the tax ramifications. In many countries, property taxes are so high that it financially benefits the receiving party to receive the land while the bequeathing party is still alive.
Many people choose to have their organs donated upon their death, but there is also a need for inter vivos donation, i.e. the donation of an organ from a living person. Most commonly, kidneys are the subject of inter vivos organ donation due to the fact that people can function adequately with a healthy kidney. There are often political and ethical concerns with inter vivos organ donation, including the question of whether donors should have the right to sell their organs inter vivos, rather than donate them.
The trust between living persons is created when a subject who owns movable or immovable property, called the settlor, declares that the assets are entrusted to another subject, called the beneficiary. Trusts are generally created to avoid the probate process, which can result in the property not being used in the way the settlor intends or ending up in the hands of another person. To avoid this, the settlor creates an inter vivos trust which explicitly enumerates the purpose of the trust, the party who is to benefit from the property, as well as the person who is to be responsible for looking after the property – called the trustee. While this eliminates many of the risks inherent in the probate process and generally confers tax advantages on the parties involved, the downside is that ownership of the property does not vest entirely in the beneficiary, so there are some restrictions on the use and disposition of the property.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
