A recent decision in the High Court in England has highlighted the importance of taking care when making charitable bequests in a Will. In the case of Dryden v Young 2024 EWHC 1095 (Ch), there was confusion as to the intended destination for a number of charitable bequests which the Testatrix had included as part of her Will.

 

The Testatrix died in April 2020. As part of her Will, she divided her estate between various charitable organisations, a number of whom were incorrectly or ambiguously named.  Very little external information was available on how to interpret these gifts as the solicitor’s file was no longer available. A further complicating factor was a particular clause in the Will, which barred any charity from benefitting if it had changed its name or merged with another before the estate was distributed.

 

In one example, the Court had to interpret a gift to a beneficiary referred to as ‘The Heavy Horses Preservation Society Old Rectory Whitchurch’. The Court found that there was no registered charity with this name.  However, to determine the validity of the gift, the Court looked to any other charities with similar objectives and purposes. The Court was satisfied that the only charity which was apparently dedicated specifically to the welfare of shire horses was ‘The Shire Horse Society’. The gift was deemed valid and the Shire Horse Society was able to benefit from the estate.

 

To determine the legal position on the various charitable gifts proposed by the Testatrix, the Court considered:

• The wording that was used to identify the charities, and the construction of the Will as a whole, to determine the intention of the Testatrix;
• Whether the charity existed at the time that the Will was executed and whether any such entity had altered its status or changed its name; and
• Could the gift be construed as a general gift for generable charitable purposes under the “Cy-près” principle? A “Cy-près” scheme allows the Court to direct the funds to charities with objects similar to the one which was originally intended, provided the Testatrix showed a general charitable intention in the Will.

Applying these principles and demonstrating a desire to give effect to a Will which was clearly constructed to benefit charitable causes, the Court decided that all seven of the gifts in question were valid.

 

This decision clarified the Court’s objectives when it comes to the interpretation of charitable gifts within a Will. In this instance, the Court demonstrated that it would look to uphold the Testatrix’s intentions and aim to distribute the estate as closely as possible to these intentions rather see gifts fail based on circumstances which may not have been foreseen by the Testatrix at the time of the making of the Will.

 

Nevertheless, this decision outlines the importance of taking care in drafting charitable bequests accurately, with assistance from an experienced practitioner. If circumstances change after the Will is made, the exercise of tracing the necessary evidence for the gift to remain valid is a lot easier when the details of the beneficiaries are obtained at the outset such as checking the correct name of the charity and its registration number. Taking proper care can therefore help to avoid the unnecessary time and cost that inevitably accompany legal disputes, preventing needless depletion of the estate and the funds available to benefit the charities.

 

If you have questions about charitable bequests in a Will or estate planning, please contact Fiona Kirkpatrick in our Private Client team for more information.

While great care has been taken in the preparation of the content of this article, it does not purport to be a comprehensive statement of the relevant law and full professional advice should be taken before any action is taken in reliance on any item covered.