What is the test for establishing that a parent’s gratuitous transfer of assets to their adult child is a valid gift?

10 The law states that, where a parent makes a gratuitous transfer of assets to an adult child, there is a presumption of a resulting trust, such that the child is presumed not to be the beneficial owner, but rather to hold the assets as a trustee for the parent. This is a rebuttable presumption, so the child claiming that the transfer was a valid gift can rebut it by bringing evidence to support his or her claim. The evidence required to rebut the presumption is evidence of the parent’s intention to make a gift, which must be proved on a balance of probabilities. (See Pecore v. Pecore, 2007 SCC 17 at paras. 19-44, [2007] 1 S.C.R. 795 at paras. 19-44.)