Also known as:cy pres doctrine · cy-près doctrine · cy pres · cy-près
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An equitable doctrine that permits a court to modify or terminate a charitable trust when its stated purpose has become impossible, impracticable, or wasteful. The court redirects the trust property to a purpose as near as possible to the settlor's original charitable intent. The trust does not fail and the property does not revert to the settlor or heirs.
Sources & Authorities
How it applies
Common Examples
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Redirecting Artisan Subsidies
In 2010 a settlor transferred two million dollars to Stone Trade to subsidize brick-and-mortar leases for artisans on Main Street. A decade of online commerce emptied the street and left subsidies supporting fewer than ten weekly visitors. South Commerce petitioned to redirect the remaining corpus to online platforms for the same artisans. The court applied cy pres and approved the redirection because the original purpose had become wasteful while the broader goal of supporting local artisans remained feasible.
Hospital Racial Restriction
A testator left funds to a hospital for the care of Caucasian patients only and provided that illegal terms would send the money to other named charities. After the racial restriction was held unenforceable, the hospital sought cy pres to retain the funds for general patient care. The court refused cy pres and enforced the gift-over because the trust instrument expressly directed distribution to alternate beneficiaries upon illegality.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Uniform Acts
Restatements
Casebooks
Study Supplements
Home for Incurables of Baltimore City v. University of Maryland Medical System Corp.797 A.2d 746 (Md. 2002)
School Scholarship Fund
A settlor created a trust to fund scholarships at a specific private academy that later closed. The trustee petitioned to redirect the corpus to scholarships at a nearby public school serving the same student population. The court granted cy pres because the settlor's dominant purpose of educating local children could still be achieved at the substitute institution.
Shenandoah Valley National Bank v. Taylor63 S.E.2d 786 (Va. 1951)
Park Segregation Clause
A testator devised land for a public park restricted to white persons only. After the racial restriction was invalidated, the heirs claimed the land reverted because the charitable purpose could not be performed exactly as written. The court refused cy pres and held the trust failed, allowing reversion to the heirs because the settlor's intent could not be fulfilled without the invalid restriction.
Evans v. Abney396 U.S. 435 (1970)
Common questions
Frequently Asked
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When does a court apply cy pres to a charitable trust?+
A court applies cy pres when the trust's stated charitable purpose has become impossible, impracticable, or wasteful. The modification must direct the property to a purpose consistent with the settlor's original intent. The trust does not fail and the assets do not revert.
Supporting sources
Does an express gift-over to noncharitable beneficiaries block cy pres?+
An express gift-over to a noncharitable beneficiary prevails over cy pres only if the settlor is still living when the provision takes effect or fewer than twenty-one years have passed since the trust was created. In all other cases the court may still apply cy pres.
Supporting sources
How does cy pres interact with conservation servitudes?+
When the particular conservation purpose of a servitude becomes impracticable, the servitude may be modified under cy pres principles to permit use for other conservation or preservation purposes unless the creating document provides otherwise.
Supporting sources
What happens to charitable assets in an entity merger or conversion?+
Property held for a charitable purpose may not be diverted from its original objects by a merger or conversion unless a court or the attorney general issues an order under cy pres or similar nondiversion rules.
Supporting sources
797 A.2d 746 (Md. 2002)Family Law
…provided by the terms of the trust that if the restriction is illegal the property should go to a different charity, the doctrine of cy pres is not applicable and the gift over takes effect. In Connecticut Bank & Trust Co. v. Johnson a testatrix left money in trust to be used in a particular hospital for the care of patients…