Answer

A donation is an act of liberality by which a person gratuitously disposes of a thing or right in favor of another who accepts it (Article 725 of the Civil Code). Its essential requisites are: (a) the donor's capacity to contract and to dispose of the property; (b) the donee's capacity to accept; (c) a determinate object; (d) the donor's donative intent and the donee's acceptance; and (e) compliance with the form required by law. A donation is perfected from the moment the donor knows of the donee's acceptance (Article 734).

The required form depends on the property: a donation of immovable property must be made in a public instrument specifying the property and the charges the donee must satisfy, with acceptance in the same or a separate public document (Article 749); a donation of movable property exceeding five thousand pesos requires that both the donation and its acceptance be made in writing (Article 748). A donation that does not observe the required form is void.

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