8. Charitable trusts

2021 ◽  
pp. 172-211
Author(s):  
Gary Watt
Keyword(s):  
Attorney General ◽  
Judicial Control ◽  
The Public ◽  
Constitutional Protection ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Key Points ◽  
Parens Patriae ◽  
Charity Commission ◽  
Trust Law ◽  
Charitable Purpose

Without assuming prior legal knowledge, books in the Directions series introduce and guide readers through key points of law and legal debate. Questions, diagrams and exercises help readers to engage fully with each subject and check their understanding as they progress. Charitable trusts are not subject to the objections against private purpose trusts and enjoy certain privileges. Charities are not public institutions, but are nevertheless subject to judicial control, to the constitutional protection of the Crown as parens patriae (acting through the Attorney-General) and to the supervision of the Charity Commission. Moreover, they are not subject to the beneficiary principle and to the rule against inalienability of capital. This chapter deals with charitable trusts and discusses the distinction between legal and ‘everyday’ notions of charity. It also examines a charitable purpose, the advantages and disadvantages of charitable status, limits on the recognition of charitable trusts, what happens when a charitable purpose fails, whether the purpose of a charitable status is sufficiently beneficial to the public and the administration of charitable trusts. The chapter furthermore considers trust law and tax law privileges; the roles of charities, such as the prevention or relief of poverty and the advancement of education and religion; the public benefit requirement in educational trusts; recreational charities; the exclusivity requirement; the doctrine of cy près; and the disposal of surplus donations.

8. Charitable trusts

2019 ◽  
pp. 173-213
Author(s):  
Gary Watt
Keyword(s):  
Attorney General ◽  
Judicial Control ◽  
The Public ◽  
Constitutional Protection ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Key Points ◽  
Parens Patriae ◽  
Charity Commission ◽  
Trust Law ◽  
Charitable Purpose

Without assuming prior legal knowledge, books in the Directions series introduce and guide readers through key points of law and legal debate. Questions, diagrams and exercises help readers to engage fully with each subject and check their understanding as they progress. Charitable trusts are not subject to the objections against private purpose trusts and enjoy certain privileges. Charities are not public institutions, but are nevertheless subject to judicial control, to the constitutional protection of the Crown as parens patriae (acting through the Attorney-General) and to the supervision of the Charity Commission. Moreover, they are not subject to the beneficiary principle and to the rule against inalienability of capital. This chapter deals with charitable trusts and discusses the distinction between legal and ‘everyday’ notions of charity. It also examines a charitable purpose, the advantages and disadvantages of charitable status, limits on the recognition of charitable trusts, what happens when a charitable purpose fails, whether the purpose of a charitable status is sufficiently beneficial to the public and the administration of charitable trusts. The chapter furthermore considers trust law and tax law privileges; the roles of charities, such as the prevention or relief of poverty and the advancement of education and religion; the public benefit requirement in educational trusts; recreational charities; the exclusivity requirement; the doctrine of cy près; and the disposal of surplus donations.

14. Charitable trusts

2019 ◽  
pp. 429-454
Author(s):  
JE Penner
Keyword(s):  
Attorney General ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Benefit ◽  
The Core ◽  
Public Purpose ◽  
Charity Commission ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Law

Titles in the Core Text series take the reader straight to the heart of the subject, providing focused, concise, and reliable guides for students at all levels. This chapter focuses on charitable trusts. Charitable trusts are not subject to the beneficiary principle. These are valid purpose trusts that are enforced, not by beneficiaries, but by the Attorney-General or, more recently, by the Charity Commission. Charities are generally exempt from most taxes. The conditions for charitable status; the charitable character of public purpose trusts; trusts for the relief of poverty; trusts for the advancement of education; trusts for the advancement of religion; trusts for other purposes beneficial to the community; the law concerning the public benefit requirement; and the application of the cy-près doctrine to save charitable trusts from failure are discussed.

6. Charitable trusts

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham Virgo
Keyword(s):  
The Public ◽  
Public Benefit ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Charitable Trust ◽  
Charitable Purpose

This chapter examines charitable trusts in England. It discusses the advantages and disadvantages of being a charitable trust and explains the conditions that must be met in order for a trust to be considered charitable. The chapter considers the different meaning of a charitable purpose as it has been defined in cases and by statute, such as for the advancement of education or religion and the relief of poverty. It examines the meaning of the public benefit requirement and also considers the requirements that purposes must be exclusively charitable. This chapter also considers the cy-près doctrine which applies where a charitable purpose has failed initially or subsequently.

16. Charitable trusts

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Pearce ◽  
Warren Barr
Keyword(s):  
Attorney General ◽  
Public Organizations ◽  
Voluntary Organizations ◽  
The Public ◽  
Private Profit ◽  
Charity Commission ◽  
The Law ◽  
Charitable Activities

This chapter delves further into the legal definitions and provisions for charitable trusts. Charities must follow purposes recognized as such in law, and are required to demonstrate that they carry out their activities to the benefit of the public at large. Similarly, an organization that carries out charitable purposes must be ‘exclusively charitable’, which, in practice, means if it pursues non-charitable activities, they must be ancillary to the main charitable purposes. Charities have no named beneficiaries, so the law is enforced by the Attorney-General and the Charity Commission on behalf of the public. Organizations which nonetheless do good, and may exist for reasons other than private profit are referred to as (non-charitable) voluntary organizations.

scholarly journals Charitable purposes, demonstrable benefit and the role of the Charity Commission: the fourth Pemsel head recast

2020 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 445-465
Author(s):  
Lara McMurtry
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Benefit ◽  
Emerging Trends ◽  
Charity Commission ◽  
Clear Thinking ◽  
Elusive Concept ◽  
Charitable Purpose

The Charities Act 2011 requires that charitable purposes must fit within one or more of the statutory descriptions of ‘charity’ and, demonstrably, be in the public benefit. From the perspective of the now dismantled fourth Pemsel head of charity, this article examines the elusive concept of a charitable purpose and the misconceived statutory public benefit requirement. The guidance and decision-making roles of the Charity Commission are appraised and problems in applying the current law exposed. As few charity cases reach the courts or Upper Tribunal, this work analyses the limited, but important, registration appeals that have reached the First-tier Tribunal. It will explore the emerging trends in charity appeals, the divergent approaches adopted by the Commission and the Tribunal and the lamentable degree of unpredictability facing prospective charity trustees. It concludes that an absence of clear-thinking pervades this vital aspect of charity law and invites reworking and revision.

6. Charitable Trusts

2020 ◽  
pp. 157-200
Author(s):  
Graham Virgo
Keyword(s):  
The Public ◽  
Public Benefit ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Charitable Trust ◽  
Charitable Purpose

This chapter examines charitable trusts in England. It discusses the advantages and disadvantages of being a charitable trust and explains the conditions that must be met in order for a trust to be considered charitable. The chapter considers the different meaning of a charitable purpose as it has been defined in cases and by statute, such as for the advancement of education or religion and the relief of poverty. It examines the meaning of the public benefit requirement and also considers the requirements that purposes must be exclusively charitable. This chapter also considers the cy-près doctrine which applies where a charitable purpose has failed initially or subsequently.

5. Charitable Purpose Trusts

2019 ◽  
pp. 173-281
Author(s):  
Paul S Davies ◽  
Graham Virgo
Keyword(s):  
Public Trust ◽  
The Public ◽  
Charity Commission ◽  
Charitable Trust ◽  
Trust Property ◽  
The Law ◽  
Charitable Purpose ◽  
Academic Debate

All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing able students with a stand-alone resource. This chapter discusses the charitable trust — its definition and the consequences of its failure. A charitable trust is defined as a public trust for purposes that provide a benefit to the public or a section of the public and is a trust subject to supervision by the Charity Commission. A trust is only considered charitable if it is established for a purpose that the law regards as charitable. The purposes of the trust must be wholly and exclusively charitable otherwise the trust will be void. The consequences of the charitable trust failing depend on whether the failure occurs initially or subsequently. If the purpose fails initially and the settlor had a general charitable intention, the trust property can be applied for a similar charitable purpose through the application of a body of rules known as the cy-pres doctrine. If the purpose fails subsequently the cy-pres doctrine will apply automatically.

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