Types of donation. How to make them safely and easily?

The donation contract can be very useful if you want to gift a person something of value. This transmission can be registered in the property registry and does not require any payment. In this guide, we tell you about the different types of donations and how to carry them out.

Use our donation agreement model to make your donation. But first, you can inform yourself about all the available options by reading this simple guide.

What is the donation contract?

By means of this agreement, a person (donor) transfers a part or all of his/her present property free of charge to another (grantee).

Unlike the transfer by sale, the only requirement to transfer the property is the acceptation of the grantee (who receives the property). That is why it is known as an act of liberality. In other words, there is not an economic trade-off for the donor.

Acceptance is a critical element. The reason is that according to our right, no one can be enriched against his will. If there is no acceptance, the donation cannot be formalized.

Therefore, any donation contract is subject to these conditions:

• It is an act free and it is made voluntary.
• Cannot be done on future goods, i.e. the goods must be currently owned by the donor.
• Becomes effective since the moment the grantee accepts it.
• The donor transfers the ownership of their property.
• You cannot donate all your heritage. You must keep enough to live.
• If the donation includes all the assets of the donor, what is necessary to live according to its circumstances must be reserved. If not, the donation is nil.
• You can only donate tradable items, i.e., those transferable to third parties (a home, a piece of furniture, a jewel…).

After defining what the donation contract is, we will explain the types of donation and its different characteristics.

Types of donation

According to the types of donation, we find the following ways of proceeding:

• Pure donation: It is the typical donation we have spoken about so far. Free, voluntary, and translational of dominion.

• Conditional donation: In this case, the donor will only donate his or her property if certain circumstances are given in the future. It may be an uncertain event or something subject to the donor’s actions. A typical case is a grandmother who promise her grandson gifting him a car if he gets his college degree. For this donation to be valid, the grantee is required to be capable of executing the condition. Or it could be an event with a high probability of occurrence.
• Remunerative donation: It is the one that is done because of the services provided by the grantee, as a reward. The grantee has legal action to claim it. It could be for attending the donor who is sick or disabled. Or for assisting him in his work. To be legal, the donation should always exceed the value of the service.

• Prenuptial donations or donations because of marriage: These are those made between the future spouses or by some third party in consideration of the planned marriage. An example would be when two people are getting married and the family gifts them a car or the house.

Fundamental aspects to be considered in the donation contract

Registration

To be effective, the donation must comply with the following formalities:

• Be registered in the public registry.
• Pay the donation tax at your community’s Hacienda offices. As it is a free act that enriches the one who accepts it he must pay taxes for the increase of his patrimony.
• The tax has bonuses if the recipient is a direct relative or spouse of the donor.

Causes of revocation

The donation contract may be revoked. These causes of revocation are:

• If you commit a crime against the person, the honor, or the assets of the donor or his ascendants, descendants or spouses.
• If the grantee does not provide food to the donor.
• Do not meet the charges or levies imposed.
• If it is done on the condition of celebrating a marriage and it does not come to occur.

If you are thinking of making this agreement and have questions to solve, do not hesitate to consult our experts.