MODERN

CHARITABLE

TRUSTS

MODERN

CHARITABLE

TRUSTS

AND

THE

LAW

BY

PAUL

R.

STINSON

Attempts

of

disappointed

heirs

and

collateral

kindred

to over-

throw

gifts

to

charity

have

been,

perhaps

always

will

be,

com-

mon.

The

practitioner

under

whose

direction

the

charitably

inclined

give,

should

bear

in

mind

that

the

instrument

will

probably

be

subjected

to

judicial

scrutiny.

The

usual

grounds

of

attack

are

that

the

trust

is

not

purely charitable,

or

that

as

a

charity

its

declared

purposes

are

so

indefinitely

expressed

as

to

be

unenforceable.

Such

instruments

are

often

assailed

also

up-

on

the

grounds

that

they

violate

the

rule

against

perpetuities,

the

rule

against

accumulations,

or

the

rule

against

restraints

on

alienation of

property.

On

the

other

hand,

donors

have

plans

for

their

gifts

almost

infinite

in

variety;

charitable

needs

are

constantly changing and expanding

with the

advance

of

civilization;

experience

has

taught

that

gifts

to

narrowly

com-

passed

uses

often

encounter

disaster

and disuse;

and

finally

trusts

of

perpetual

duration

are

common

where

the

purpose

is

charitable.

The

ideal

gift

is,

therefore,

one

which

not

only ex-

presses

the

donor's

intent,

but

is

also

flexible

enough

to

accom-

modate

itself,

if

necessary,

to

the

needs

of

future

generations,

and

which

at

the

same

time

is

invulnerable

to

legal

attack.

The law

of

charitable

trusts

is

a

law

unto

itself.

Charity

is

a

favorite

of

equity.

It

has

often

been called

a

ward

of

chancery.

Courts

consider

it

their

duty

to

preserve

them

to

their

sacred

purposes,

and

they

regard

that

duty as

founded

on

principles

of

the

highest

public

policy. Because

of

this, property

devoted

to

charitable

objects

is

exempt

from

many of

the

restrictive

rules

of

law.

Many

other

rules,

applicable

only

to

charity,

have

been

formulated

to

protect

them.

The

distinction

between

charitable

and

private

trusts,

both

in

their

attributes

and

legal

requisites,

is

fundamental.

A

pri-

vate

trust

will

fail

unless

there

are

beneficiaries

specifically

nominated

or

capable

of

ascertainment.

Indefiniteness

of

bene-

ficiaries

is

of

the

essence

of

charitable

trusts,

and

it

has

many

times

been

said

that

charity

begins

where

certainty

of

bene-

ficiaries

ends;

that

if

there

are

beneficiaries

for

whose

particular