By Suzana Popovic-Montag ( April 29, 2025, 12:48 PM EDT) -- It is well-established in Canada that equity presumes bargains, not gifts. The Supreme Court of Canada’s seminal decision in Pecore v. Pecore, 2007 SCC 17 confirms that this principle even extends to gratuitous property transfers from parents to their own adult children. As a result, if a parent wants to gift property to their adult child, it is essential that the gift be properly documented. Otherwise, the gift may eventually fail due to the presumption of resulting trust, reverting to the parent’s estate after the parent has passed away. A gratuitous transfer will only be permitted if the recipient of the property is able to prove that a gift was intended, thereby rebutting the presumption....