Donative intent definition
Donative intent means the intent to give some or all of an ownership interest in property to another. See Intent, BLACK’S LAW DICTIONARY (11th ed. 2019) (defining “donative intent” as “[t]he intent to surrender dominion and control over the gift that is being made”). As far as it goes, the fact that this intent can include the intent to convert individually owned property into a joint tenancy between the giver and recipient provides some basis for Schwersenska’s argument. See Trattles v. Trattles, 126 Wis. 2d 219, 223, 376 N.W.2d 379 (Ct. App. 1985) (a gift may result from the conversion of separate property to joint tenancy); Russ v. Russ, 2007 WI 83, ¶31, 302 Wis. 2d 264, 734 N.W.2d 874 (citing Derr v. Derr, 2005 WI App 63, ¶36, 280 Wis. 2d 681, 696 N.W.2d 170 (“When funds are deposited into a joint bank account, donative intent is presumed.”)).