Legal Definitions - inter vivos

Inter vivos is a legal term meaning "between living persons" or "during one's lifetime." It describes actions, transactions, or transfers that occur while all parties involved are still alive, rather than taking effect after someone's death. This concept is particularly relevant in areas like property law and estate planning, distinguishing immediate actions from those outlined in a will or other testamentary documents.

Here are some examples illustrating the concept of inter vivos actions:

• Selling a Property to a Family Member:

  Imagine a father who decides to sell his vacation cabin to his daughter for a significantly reduced price, rather than waiting to leave it to her in his will. This transaction is an inter vivos transfer because the sale and transfer of ownership happen immediately, while both the father and daughter are alive. The property changes hands during their lifetimes, and the transfer is not contingent on the father's death.

• Establishing a Joint Bank Account:

  A married couple opens a joint checking account, allowing both spouses immediate access to the funds and the right of survivorship (meaning the surviving spouse automatically inherits the full balance upon the other's death). The act of establishing this account is an inter vivos action. Both individuals are alive and actively participate in setting up the account, agreeing to its terms, and depositing funds. The creation of the account itself is a transaction between living persons, even though one of its features addresses what happens after a death.

• Creating an Advance Healthcare Directive:

  An individual signs a document known as an "advance directive" or "living will," which specifies their medical treatment preferences if they become unable to make decisions for themselves in the future. This is an inter vivos act because the individual creates and signs the document while they are alive and mentally competent. The directive takes effect later, under specific circumstances, but the legal action of establishing their wishes and the document itself occurs entirely during their lifetime.