### EAYTOIRNEY GENERAL OF EXAS

Honorable A. $. Sutton County Auditor Anderson County Palestine, Texas Dear Sir: Opinion No. 0*4601 Rer &Yfeot of zibsndonment or non-use on ti.tle to land constituting a oharitable trust. Wehave oonsldered the questions oontalnsd in our letter of May 18, 1942, addressed to the Attorney @enera9and reading as f0110~s ; “On Jan. 26, 1881 5. W. Wallace et ux et al exeouted a deed, the material part of ’ whioh reads as followar "'!Phat we, ci. W. Wallaoe and hie wife, M. J. Wallaoe, and W. B. Watson; for and in oonelderatlon of one dollar to us paid and the fuurther oonaiderat5on ol’ a desire to promote the oause of Bauoation have this day granted and sold and by these preasnts do grant sell and oonvey unto J, HIBarton Jama A, Quiok and 

### U. W. LUnafoPa, 

### Trua6rra 

### for bhr 

### &ok Sohool 

### ~oi-tamunlby InAndrroon Oount and thrir auaooaaora fozwrr for thr uoa andbrnrllb oiKthe 

### aohool and ohuroh purpoara thr followln drrorlbod land aibuabrd in Andrrron Oounby, Texas, a out

% la nrllea north of PalrrbSnr, toni A 

### part of tihr

### NorbhXali 

### of 0, Oroor 

### Loagui IIf Be inning at 8, ID, oornrr of Lot Nor 6 of **bhr** aubdlvla !on of arid north half and 

### running North with l&r dlvldin oomem ! Lot Nor 0 and Lot No. 4 780 vaaa rtonr lOP

ram

### whloh a rrd oak 6ln mkdX**brr 8**  1st W7 9/6 VYHlokory 

### 18inmkdXbra N

### a0deg.

### PI1stVIThenor

oroaa rpring branoh a0v r5ghb of I for oor fromwhloh ablook jaok6 

### In r Ing 160 brr N va and PorrtOak 10 Inn&d Xbm S 56* W8VI Thrnoe 

### Worthlb0 

### VI Stakr 

### for oomor fromwhhohport oak 0In in dla bra S 40 deg. W0 l/4 VI a

### Hlokory 0 ti mkdx

### braN

### 68deg. W9 VI 

### Thpnoe South wlth rald Qulok@r weat Lm 160v6 to the plaos of Irt oorner of this plot oontaln%ng 

### 4 aorea 

### of land to have and to hold the aam..-

Hon. A. E. Sutton - Page 2-o-4601

unto said school Trustees for school and church Purposes forever; Wehereby convey and quit claim forever said lands and use and implements to said Trustees and their successors for the uses and purposes aforesaid.”

“ManyYears later the Elmtown CommonSchool Distriot and the Conoord CommonSohool Distriot were organized. The Concord School District inoluaed the territory described hereinabove. The sohool house located and situated on the above desoribed property was moved into the Elmtown School Distriot and was later sold. There has not been a house on the above desoribed tract of land, nor has it been used for sohool or ohuroh purposes sinoe the removal of the building mentioned above. Assuming that G. W. Wallaoe et ux et al owned the fee simple title to the traot of land described in the above deed, and that there has not been a oonveyanoe of any kind or oharaoter since the date of the above described deed, which distrlot, if either, owns said land?

“I shall appreoiate your opinion on the above question at your earliest oonvenienoe.~~ In our opinion, the deed mentioned’oreated a oharitable trust for school and ohuroh purposes in favor of the residents of the Quick Sohool Community in Anderson County, Texas. Charities are highly favored in law and it is an elemental rUle that a court of ohmoery will not allow a trust to fail for want of a trustee. 9 Tex. Jur. 55,56. “In the event that the person appointed trustee refuses to acoept the offioe, or resi after aooeptanoe, rl”” or beoause mentally inoompetent, or d es) or is removed, the court has the power to appoint another Person to act in his stead.” 42 Tex. Jur. 625. If it appears that the maintenance of the pro erty for sohool and ohurah purposes for the Quiok Sohool Comm %itg in Anderson County has beoome impraotioable, the Diatriot Court may, in a proper proceeding brought for that pur 080, decreed out of the trustees named in tR order the property e deed or their successors and vest It in the Conoord CommonSohool Distriot whioh now inoludes the Quiok Sohool Community, or the oourt might, depending on the facts, order the property sold and the prooeeds applied as nearly as maybe to the oharitable purposes named in the deed. Inglish v, Johnson, 96 S. W. 558, Error Refused, The answer to your inquir is in the trustees J. H. g is that the title to the *o arty arton, Lunsford or their suoaes80rsr James A. Qulok and 6. #,Hon. A. E. Sutton - Page 3 O-4601

Yours very truly ATTORNEY

GENERAL

OFTEXAS s/ Fagan Dickson BY Fagan Diokiori Asskitant FD:BT/cg APPROVED

J7XJE11, 1942 8/ Gerald C. Mann ATTORNEY

GEZWXAL

OFTEXAS

APPROVEDOPINIONCOMXITTEE ByBWB, Chairman