Simple English definitions for legal terms
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Term: Cy pres: charitable trusts
Definition: Cy pres is a legal rule that allows a charitable trust to continue even if its original purpose becomes impossible to achieve. Instead of ending the trust, the court can change the purpose of the trust to make it as close as possible to what the person who created the trust wanted. This way, the trust can still help people in need, just in a slightly different way than originally intended.
Definition: Cy pres is a legal doctrine that means "as near as possible." When someone creates a charitable trust, the intended charitable purpose of the trust may become impossible to fulfill. Instead of ending the trust, the courts may change the purpose of the charitable trust to allow it to continue, while keeping it as close to the original intention of the person who created the trust as possible.
Example: Let's say that someone creates a charitable trust to build a hospital in a specific town. However, over time, the town's population decreases, and it no longer needs a hospital. In this case, the court may use the cy pres doctrine to change the purpose of the trust to build a medical clinic instead. This way, the trust can continue to serve a charitable purpose, even though the original purpose is no longer possible.
Explanation: This example illustrates how the cy pres doctrine can be used to change the purpose of a charitable trust when the original purpose is no longer possible. By changing the purpose to something similar, the trust can continue to serve a charitable purpose and honor the intentions of the person who created the trust.