CHARITABLE TRUSTS
Beneficiary Principle
- Requires express trusts to have identifiable persons as their object, primarily so that there is someone
with sufficient standing to enforce the trust in court (Morice v Bishop of Durham).
- Trusts that are created for a purpose rather than an individual are generally held to be invalid.
Charitable Trusts: Exception to the Beneficiary Principle
- Charitable trusts are an exception to the Beneficiary Principle, and thus do not require certainty of
object.
- Certainty of intention and certainty of subject matter are still required.
STEP ONE: INTRODUCTION
WRITE: The Beneficiary Principle dictates that there must be certainty of object; express trusts must have
identifiable persons as their object (Morice v Bishop of Durham). Charitable trusts are an exception to the
Beneficiary Principle, and thus do not require certainty of object. Charitable trusts are āfor a purpose, not for a
personā (Attorney-General (NSW) v Perpetual Trustee Co Ltd, Dixon and Evatt JJ).
To circumvent the lack of object of certainty, and in arguing the validity of their trust, [X] may argue that their
trust is a charitable trust.
STEP TWO: HEADS OF POWER
WRITE: Reflective of the historic purposes in the Statute of Elizabeth, four heads of charities have been
established (Pemsel, per Lord McNaughton, and endorsed by HCA in Aid/Watch).
On these facts, [X] will maintain that their trust is valid as it is a trust for [CHOOSE].
- Relief of Poverty
- Advancement of Education
- Advancement of Religion
- Other Purposes to Benefit the Public
[Y] will likely argue that the trust fails to meet the common law requirements of [same as above].
STEP THREE: RELIEF OF POVERTY
WRITE: Although the words āpoorā or āpovertyā are not used in the trust, [X] will argue that the words [insert from
facts], as with the words āamelioration of conditions of returned service menā, indicate the provision/clause
intends to benefit persons in need (Downing v FCT, per Walsh J).
- The relief of poverty is not limited to destitution
- Examples:
o Trust for āladies of limited meansā.
o Trust for āpersons of moderate meansā.
o Trust for āwidows & spinsters whose incomes are more than Ā£40 & less than Ā£80 per annumā.
o Trust for oldest respectable inhabitants of Gunville to the amount of 5s. per week.
