Hello
We are dealing with a will which made a gift to the now defunct THE GURKHA VILLAGES AID TRUST. This charity paid its funds to the Gurkha Welfare Trust when it closed down. However, our will does not have any explicit cy-pres provisions (it incorporates the STEP 1st edition Standard Provisions. Do we need to get the residuary beneficiaries’ agreement to a cy-pres gift?
Many thanks
For Cy-pres to apply there must be a general charitable intention.
If the only charitable gift in the will is to the Gurkha charity, there may not be such an intention, unless the rest of the estate is also given to charitable causes.
However, on what terms was the charity “closed” and its assets transferred to the Gurkha Welfare Trust? If the transfer was made under a Charity Commission scheme, it may be that the right to receive legacies also assigned to the ”new” charity. I suggest the “new” charity is contacted and asked to provide a copy of any scheme under which the “old” charity’s assets were transferred.
Paul Saunders FCIB TEP
Independent Trust Consultant
Providing support and advice to fellow professionals