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Full-Text Articles in Estates and Trusts
An Historical And Empirical Analysis Of The Cyprès Doctrine, Christopher J. Ryan
An Historical And Empirical Analysis Of The Cyprès Doctrine, Christopher J. Ryan
ACTEC Law Journal
Cy près is a pivotal doctrine in estate law and indeed American jurisprudence. It places courts in the shoes of settlors of charitable trusts to discern not only their original intent but also affords the possibility of continuing the material purpose for which settlors created enduring legacies of philanthropy benefitting society. For this reason, it may well be that no other legal doctrine is as closely tied to the interests of the individual and the collective as cy près. And my first-of-its kind study puts the cy-près doctrine front and center, while providing three major contributions to the field. First, …
Trust Alteration And The Dead Hand Paradox, Jeffrey N. Pennell, Reid Kress Weisbord
Trust Alteration And The Dead Hand Paradox, Jeffrey N. Pennell, Reid Kress Weisbord
ACTEC Law Journal
Trusts are popular instruments for wealth transmission because they can be crafted to suit almost any imaginable estate planning goal that is not contrary to public policy. With the abrogation of the Rule Against Perpetuities in most states, settlors may impose trust terms that will be legally enforceable for scores of future generations, if not in perpetuity. Long-term and perpetual trusts, however, present a paradox of dead hand control, because the specificity and the durability of settlor-imposed restrictions tend to be inversely related. As donative preferences become increasingly specific and restrictive, trusts become less durable with the passage of time, …