Charitable Trust

The main aim of charitable trusts is for benefit purposes and it is not for individual beneficiaries or objects. Also, charitable trusts must considere to be of such value and importance to the community that they receive favourable treatment. Lord Macnagthen summarized these purposes into four categories. These are the relief of poverty, the promotion of education, the advancement of religion, and all other purposes beneficial to the community1. In order to be charitable, each disposition must contain a public benefit as seen in IRC v Baddeley2, and the purpose must be wholly and exclusively charitable in Williams' Trustees v IRC3. The issue in Caesar's first will might falls under charitable trust for advancement of education and trusts for other purposes for the community. In the Charities Bill 2005, it states that any amateur sporting activities which fall within an educational context may in principle be promoted as a charitable trust for the advancement of education. This was stated by Buckley LJ in Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England and Wales v Attorney-Genera4.The sporting facilities need not be limited to only schools or institution. In IRC v McMullen5, a trust to provide facilities for pupils at school and universities in the United Kingdom to play association football or other games or sports was held valid by the House of Lords. Also, trusts for

  • Word count: 1583
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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Can equity perfect an imperfect gift?

When is a gift completed?1 This very simple question has caused a great deal of debate between academics after decisions of recent case law in this area. The dictionary definition of a gift is '...the complete transfer of property to another.' 2 Here both legal and equitable title pass and the donee becomes the absolute owner of the property. To perfect a gift, it is necessary that the relevant form of transfer relating to the type of property involved is employed. If not, there is an imperfect gift, and equity will not perfect an imperfect gift.3 This can be differentiated from a trust, which is dependent upon identifiable property being transferred from its legal owner to one or more trustees to hold and manage property for benefit of ascertainable beneficiaries.4 For a trust to be constituted, the legal title to trust property must be transferred to trustees for a valid trust to be constituted. The modern case law in particular with regards to shares in a private limited company mainly consists of scenarios where intended gifts or shares are thwarted due to the donor's non-compliance with some requirement of transfer either at law or equity.5 This essay will critically analyse how methods of constituting a trust or gift have evolved through case law, to a stage now where there seems to be a relaxation of the orthodox principles applying to imperfect gifts.6 Indeed some

  • Word count: 4289
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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Trust Law: With particular reference to the views of Lord Wilberforce and Lord Hodson in McPhail-v-

Trust Law: With particular reference to the views of Lord Wilberforce and Lord Hodson in McPhail-v- Trusts owe much of their present existence to the role of Equity but they have also been confined by the very same principles. The certainty requirements of Trusts is one such example of the role Equity plays, it has however managed to break from the confines of certain equitable principles by enlightened judicial intervention which places a greater reliance on different equitable principles. The law relating to certainty has been formulated, in line with equitable principles, in various cases in the nineteenth and twentieth century. These cases were somewhat agglomerated in I.R.C.-v-Broadwater Cottage Trust by Jenkins L.J. but confusion predominated his judgement because it was impossible to draw a clear line between argument and judgment. It is however possible to define some points from his judgment. He seems to feel bound by Morice-v-Bishop of Durham in that the courts could not validate a trust that was out of their control. Of more importance was his idea that a trust could not be created by the courts arbitrarily. He did understand the difficulties this presented, but again he seems to suggest he was bound by Re Ogden and unable to detract from the complete list test laid down in it. To understand why Jenkins L.J. and Lord Hodson felt confined we must look at the

  • Word count: 1954
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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Trusts: 3 certainties

Elizabeth Newbury Property 2 Practice Coursework Sally is wishing to transfer her shares in Home Clean Ltd, and her gold Krugerrands. She is attempting to set up a third party trust, the named property to be held on trust by Tony for the benefit of the beneficiaries, Bertha and Colette. As it is the intention of Sally to create a trust by transferring the property to Tony to act as a trustee, then the trust is incomplete until the transfer is made. It is important to know whether or not the transfer has been made because if it has not then Tony does not hold the property on trust for the benefit of the beneficiaries and the property will instead be left to her husband in her will. The starting point is that any person who is attempting to create a trust must fulfil certain requirements before their attempt can be given legal effect. These requirements, known as the three certainties, were classified by Lord Lonsdale in the case of Knight v Knight. These are certainty of intention, (the intention to create a trust is clear), certainty of subject matter (the property intended to be the subject of the trust is identifiable), and certainty of object (the beneficiaries of the trust are clearly identified). Secondly, it is important to consider the formalities for Sally (the settler) to transfer the legal estate in the trust property to Tony (the trustee). As the property is a

  • Word count: 1125
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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Trusts and charitable status.

For a trust to be charitable it must meet three requirements. Firstly, the gift must be for the purpose which falls 'within the spirit and intendment' of the Statute of Charitable Use 1601. Secondly, the trust must promote public benefit and thirdly, the purposes must be wholly and exclusively charitable. The first test is identified by Lord MacNaghten in which he stated that a trust will be charitable if its purpose is for either, the relief of poverty, the advancement of education, the advancement of religion or for other purposes which benefit the community. The first bequest made by Caesar is to leave £100 000 of his estate to Redbrick Council so they can build a sports club mainly for the benefit of younger and unemployed residents of the locality. In Re Sanders Wills Trust1 a similar trust for the provision of housing for the benefit of working class failed as was seen as non-charitable. However in Re Niyazis Wills Trust2 a construction for the benefit of working class men was held as charitable although stated as 'desperately near the border line.' One would need to establish if the young and unemployed are actually the needy. If the decision in Re Sanders is to be followed, the trust in dispute would not successfully meet the requirements for relief of poverty. However if one follows Re Niyazis, one could say the gift would succeed but be at the very border

  • Word count: 1655
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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Consider whether each of the following bequests in the will of Caesar, who has just died, may take effect as a trust for charitable purposes, or, if not, as a non-charitable purpose trust.

Consider whether each of the following bequests in the will of Caesar, who has just died, may take effect as a trust for charitable purposes, or, if not, as a non-charitable purpose trust. a) I leave my trustees Brutus and Julia £10,000, which they are to invest and use the income to pay for the upkeep of my pets until the last of them dies. b) I bequeath the sum of £100,000 out of my estate to the Redbrick Parish council so that they can build a new library for the benefit of the residents of the locality. c) I direct my trustees to hold £50,000 on trust to provide for any of my friends or relatives, in the UK or in any EU member State, who may be in financially difficult circumstances at the date of my death. d) I leave the trustees of the redbrick sports club, with which I have been associated for many years, the sum of £15,000, with a view to extending club premises so as to promote the physical fitness of club members. In order to discuss the implications of charity law on the bequests in the will of Caesar, it is first necessary to analyse the difference between charitable and non-charitable purpose trusts. The principal distinction between the two types of trusts is that the former are valid and the majority of the latter are void. As a general rule, 'non-charitable purpose trusts are void however outward-looking and beneficial the purposes might be'1 and the

  • Word count: 2957
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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Equity & Trust

"The present loose framework for the definition of charity enables the courts and the Charity Commissioners to develop the law in a way which is sensitive to the changing needs of society. The introduction of a statutory definition might put at risk the flexibility of the present law, which is perhaps its greatest strength." "...it is life and not logic, which has guided... the law of charity."1 E nglish law has, for a long time relied upon a judicial understanding of what charity is by looking at which activities previous judges have accepted as meriting the description of charitable and analogising from those decisions. The essential attribute of charity is that it seeks to benefit the public and it is this element that merits the special treatment such trusts receive. However, the law also looks for a certain generic character in charitable activity and by the end of the 16th Century it was clear that some enumeration was needed of the activities which were thought to further the public good; this was first provided by the preamble to the Statute of Charitable Uses 1601, which for 350 years constituted the general statement of charitable purposes. These activities are today, vague and outdated, but the courts have consistently analogised contemporary activities with the preamble, while attempting to keep the law abreast of relative changes within acceptable

  • Word count: 3741
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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The main topics that will be covered include the Re ROSE principle, the Rule in STRONG v BIRD, Donationes Mortis Causa, and Proprietary Estoppel.

Introduction This statement is generally true under the maxim that 'equity will not assist a volunteer,' as a volunteer is said to have done nothing for the benefit of the gift in the form of consideration for equity to impose specific performance on the settlor to perform in accordance with any declaration made in the donees favour in a situation where the promise is gratuitous1 or the trust is unconstituted, (e.g. where the legal title of the property subject to the trust has not been transferred to the trustee or where the settlor has not declared himself trustee, or where an outright assignment (gift) has not occurred). As the intention of the settlor is key to this equitable maxim, the issues surrounding gifts (e.g. any transaction which benefits an individual who has not paid for it or given consideration) will be considered in light of the above maxim, and how in different situations, equity will assist. The main topics that will be covered include the Re ROSE principle, the Rule in STRONG v BIRD, Donationes Mortis Causa, and Proprietary Estoppel. Where a donee fails to provide consideration for a gift, he is usually referred to as a volunteer and cannot therefore acquire any proprietary rights in the gift in equity.2 For this reason if, (for whatever reason), the gift is made imperfectly, or (if under a trust), incompletely transferred, equity will not usually

  • Word count: 2067
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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Is equity the answer to failings of the common law?

Equity Assignment Equity has been the focus of much debate through the centuries. This has added to the evolution of the doctrine and how it co-exists with the law. In relation to the question the first point that has to be addressed is the point of what exactly is equity, its’ origins and how it has emerged into modern day society. Secondly there is the importance of how in reality it is applied, examining relevant cases as a means to achieving this insight. Furthermore there has come into existence the concept of fusion, which bares significance in consideration of the statement in question. The term general rules is also present which will evidently be given close attention and examination. This statement when analysed and considered is true, however, there remain certain limits and thus room for debate concerning the degree to which this it is a reflection of reality in relation to the nature and application of modern equity. It is undeniable that without the general rules, meaning the common law, society would not run smoothly. Furthermore the statement is accurate in arguing that these general rules work for the majority of cases. As the layman understands that if he does something wrong there is usually a law set in place in regards to the act committed, hence the individual can appreciate what statute he has broken and have a certainty of where he stands.

  • Word count: 2790
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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Are trustees too powerful?

Equity and Trusts Assessment 2 Krishna pandya Module Title: LW513 Seminar leader: R.Greenland Group number: 19 Are trustees too powerful? "A trust has been described as the most important invention made by equity, as their lies as distinction between both the legal interests or estate as well as the equitable interest in property as under the trust the legal title will be vested in the trustees and the equitable title in the beneficiaries under the trust."1 It therefore can be seen that there is no clear or satisfactory definition of what a trust actually is or what it amounts to, as trusts in general are seen to cover a wide Varity of situations such as; in the realm of "wealth management the concept of a Trust is seen as a way of holding personal wealth (security assets) confidentially. Therefore Trusts have been created for many reasons; often in offshore jurisdictions, in an effort to reduce tax liabilities, to alter the devolution of assets on death, to avoid the inconvenience and publicity of probate and to shelter assets from actual or potential creditors. A trust is the most common form of wealth structure to grow one's wealth, enjoy it, protect it and pass it on to future generations with minimum dissipation through taxes, family disputes and governmental interference, as well as the protection of ones property. It therefore can be described as a "fire-wall"

  • Word count: 3894
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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