Gift transfer requires acceptance and completed divestment; reserved possession left the deed incomplete and cancellation effective.

A valid gift requires execution of the deed, acceptance by the donee during the donor's lifetime, and completion of transfer in the manner required by law. Where the deed reserves possession, enjoyment, rent, and mesne profits to the donor for life, and the instrument indicates that effective enjoyment was intended only after death, the gift remains incomplete unless acceptance is clearly shown. Here, there was no clear proof of acceptance or transfer of possession, so the donor had not divested title during his lifetime. The cancellation deed was therefore effective, and the later will was not displaced by any completed prior gift.

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Issues: Whether the gift deed was complete and operative during the donor's lifetime so as to divest him of title and prevent cancellation, or whether it remained incomplete and inoperative because acceptance and transfer of possession were absent.

Analysis: Under the law of gift, a valid transfer requires execution of the gift deed, acceptance by the donee during the donor's lifetime, and completion of the transfer in the manner contemplated by the governing provisions. The recitals of the deed showed that the donor reserved possession and enjoyment for life, retained the right to collect rent and mesne profits, and intended the donee to obtain effective enjoyment only after the donor's death. There was no clear recital or proof of acceptance by the donee, and the cancellation deed was consistent with the original instrument in treating the arrangement as conditional and incomplete. On that construction, the donor had not divested himself completely of the property during his lifetime and retained authority to cancel the ineffective gift.

Conclusion: The gift deed was incomplete and inoperative during the donor's lifetime, the cancellation was effective, and the subsequent will was not defeated by any completed prior gift.

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