Gifting Shares by way of Deed of Gift
The person who creates and executes a Deed of Gift to transfer money, property or shares from himself to another person is called a Donor and the person receiving the gift is called the Donee.
Generally, most Deed of Gift transfers are carried out between family members as property transferred in this way is usually given out of the love and affection the giver has for the recipient.
Transferring shares, property or money by way of gift must be executed as a Deed because no consideration is given in return for the gift, thus the document has to be witnessed. Please note: the witnesses have to be disinterested parties. In other words they cannot have a stake in the transfer of the property. If a witness stands to benefit or take a loss because of the transfer of the property, then cannot be considered disinterested and cannot act as a witness.
A Deed of Gift – Shares template shall be used where the Donor wants to give shares or other securities in a company by way of gift to someone else.
This is an unconditional gift; the Donor gives the shares/securities absolutely and retains no right or interest in the gifted shares.
N.B. When gifting shares please make sure to check the Articles of Association of the relevant company in order to see if the company’s consent is required before the transfer of shares can be carried out. If the Articles of Association state that the negotiability of the shares is restricted by the prior written approval of the company then the Donor must obtain the approval of the company before the gift can be made.
Giving a gift to someone can have some Inheritance Tax implications. Generally, any gifts made to any individuals will be exempt from Inheritance Tax payments if the Donor lives for a total of seven years or more after having made the gift. These kinds of gifts are usually known as Potentially Exempt Transfers (PETs).
However, please note that if the Donor gives away an asset but keeps an interest in it then the gift will not fall within the category of a potentially exempt transfer.
If the Donor dies within seven years of making a gift and the gift is valued at more than the Inheritance Tax threshold, Inheritance Tax will need to be paid on the value of the gift usually by the Donee or by the representatives of the estate.
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