THEA ORNEY GENERAL 

June 29, 1962 

Honorable J. C. Dolley 

Vice-Chancellor(Fisca1 Affairs) 

The University of Texas 

Austin 12, Texas 

Dear Mr. Dolley: 

Opinion No. WW-1369 

Re: Mose A. Gimbel's 

Estate 

In a recent opinion request of this office, your requesting letter states as follows: 

"An official opinion of your office is requested on the following factual situation in 

connection with the administration of the Estate 

of Mose A. Gimbel, deceased, wherein The Unlversity of Texas M. D. Anderson Hospital and 

Tumor Institute has been designated as a beneficiary pursuant to paragraph 4 of the will which 

reads: 

"'It Is my will and I do hereby provide that 

my said Trustee shall hold and administer my 

estate for one year after the death of my said 

sister, or until the New Medlcal Center adjoining Hermann Hospital is developed, when my remaining estate shall be liquidated and my entire 

estate remaining estate shall be used for the 

erection of a building In said Medical Center, 

said building to be used for the purpose of 

advancing the cure of cancer; said building to 

be dedicated in memory of my beloved parents, 

Louis and Amelia Gimbel.' 

"Mr. Gimbel of Houston, Harris County, Texas, 

executed his will on August 9, 1950, in conformity 

with law and later on October 7, 1954, executed a 

codicil. The will was admitted to probate in 

October, 1958, in the Probate Court of Harris 

County, Texas. The Executors, the Texas National 

Rank of Houston, who is also the Trustee under 
Honorable J. C. Dolley, page 2 (w-1369) 

said will, and Herbert S. Gimbel of Miami, 

Florida, have designated The University of 

Texas M. D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor 

Institute as the institution to receive the 

remainder of the estate. Present plans call 

for a new building on the north end of the 

Clinical Services Wing which will have seven 

floors with approximately 4,200 square feet 

of space to each floor, giving a total addltional area of approximately 29,400 square 

feet. This building will be erected on a 

basement and ground floor which was provided 

in an earlier construction program. It will 

be erected as a separate building and operated 

as an Integral part of the M. D. Anderson 

Hospital and Tumor Institute, an Institution 

established for the purpose of research for 

advancing the cure of cancer. The building 

will be dedicated to the memory of the parents 

of Mose A. Gimbel, namely, Louis and Amelia 

Gimbel. There is attached to this request for 

your information a brochure containing the construction plan, the various departments to be 

housed in the building, together with a data 

sheet containing general information as to the 

organizational framework of The University of 

Texas M. D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute. 

"It should be mentioned that The University 

of Texas M. D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute Is within the Texas Medical Center, The 

Center Is located on a tract of land consisting 

of approximately 140.321 acres which was conveyed 

to Texas Medical Center, Inc., by the M. D. 

Anderson Foundation by deed dated February 22, 

1946, recorded In Volume 1381, page 22 of the 

Deed Records of Harris County, Texas. There are 

approximately fifteen institutions within the 

Center, including the Post Graduate School of 

Medicine, Dental School, School of Nursing, Speech 

and Hearing Center, Psychiatric Institute, Children's 

Hospital and other hospitals. Vast sums of money 

have been expended for capital improvements approximating an investment of $100,000,000. Further, 

large sums of money are spent annually on institutional budgets of the various institutions, which 
Honorable J. C. Dolley, page 3 (WW-1369) 

indicates clearly that the Texas Medical Center 

has been developed sufficiently within the contemplation of the will. 

"There IS attached for your Information a 

brochure indicating the facilities located within the Medical Center. The hospitals are: 

"1. The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute with 300 beds 

and 300 patients daily, the full-time staff consisting of 76 members with 43 part-time staff 

members, 19 volunteers, and 81 consultants. 

"2. New Hermann Hospital - 375 beds, Old 

Hermann Hospital - 250 beds 

"(a) Nurses residence 

"(b) Arabian Temple Clinic and Children's 

Hospital have a working arrangement 

with this hospital 

"3 . St. Lukes Hospital - 340 beds 

"4. Texas Children's Hospital - 115 beds 

"5 . Methodist Hospital 

There is also under construction a City-County 

Hospital which will be completed this fall with a 

720 bed capacity. The Baylor School of Medicine 

within the Texas Medical Center has 360 students, 

90 faculty members and many volunteer faculty. 

The Dental School has an enrollment of 350 students and also operates a School of Dental Hygiene. 

"Inasmuch as the Executors and the Trustee have 

designated the University of Texas M. D. Anderson 

Hospital and Tumor Institute as a beneficiary under 

the will, we therefore request your opinion as to 

the validity of the grant to the University of 

Texas under the provisions of paragraph 4 of the 

will of Mose A. Gimbel, deceased, and whether the 

University would be authorized to accept the same. 
Honorable J. C. Dolley, page 4 (WW-1369) 

"A copy of the will and the codicil of Mr. 

Gimbel are also enclosed for your consideration. 

We have requested a certified copy of the Order 

admitting the will to probate and Letters Testamentary which will be furnished you upon receipt. 

"Thank you for your cooperation In this connection." 

Your requesting letter was supplemented by a letter from 

Mr. Burnell Waldrep, Land and Trust Attorney, University of Texas, 

which reads in part as follows: 

"The following are enclosed in connection 

our request for an opinion of your office 

relative to the Estate of Moae A. Glmbel, deceased: 

with - 

"1. Letter from Mr. Tom Eubank to M. D. 

Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute, dated 

June 11, 1962, relative to the validity of the 

grant under the will of Mose A. Gimbel, deceased. 

"2. Letter from Mr. Arthur Trum, Vice Presldent and Senior Trust Officer of the Texas National 

Bank, Houston, Texas, and Herbert S. Gimbel In their 

capacity as Independent Co-Executors and the Bank in 

its capacity as Testamentary Trustee relative to the 

selection of M. D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute as a beneficiary under the will. 

"3. Letter from Mr. Eubank to me relative to 

the letters. 

"4. Order admitting the will to probate in 

Harris County, Texas (No. 65,048). 

"5. Letters Testamentary." 

First, your opinion request presents the question of 

whether paragraph four of the Mose Glmbel will Is definite and 

certain enough to constitute a valid charitable trust under 

Texas law. 

We are of the opinion that under Texas law as explained, 

elaborated on, and as held in the cases of Boyd v. Frost National 

M, 145 Tex. 206, 196 S.W.2d 497, 168 A.L.R. 1326 (1946); 
Honorable J. C. Dolley, Page 5 (WW-1369) 

Powers v. First National Hank of Corslcana, 138 Tex. 604, 161 

S W 2d 2’13 (1942) 'Rentz v. First National Hank of Corsicana, 

3$j*S.W,2d 958 (Civ.App. 1959, error ref.), the will f M 

A. Glmbel creates a valld charitable trust. Among th"e specific 

categories enumerated as charitable purposes in the = case 

supra, which might be the basis of charitable trusts are: 

the advancement of education; (2) the promotion of health; 

(II 

(3) governmental or municipal purposes; and (4) other purposes 

the accomplishment of which is beneficial to the community. 

Mose Glmbel by paragraph four of his will states that his 

residuary estate is to be used for the erection of a building In 

"the new Medical Center adjoining Hermann 

Hospit&" 

The new Medical Center adjoining Hermann Hospital does 

mean and could only mean what is now called the Texas Medical 

Center located in Houston, Harris County, Texas. Mose A. Gimbel 

by the provisions of his will states that he IS a resident of 

Harris County, Texas. The Hermann Hospital standing on the Old 

George Hermann 20-acre estate had long been a landmark of Houston, 

Texas, at the time Mose A. Glmbel executed his will. 

The Texas Medical Center was formed on November 1, 1945. 

On February 28, 1946, the M. D. Anderson Foundation presented a 

deed to the Texas Medical Center, Inc. for more than 130 acres 

of land, adjoining the Hermann Hospital Properties, The Texas 

Medical Center was 

"formed exclusively for benevolent,charitable 

and educational purposes.' 

Paragraph four of the Mose A. Glmbel will further states 

that the proposed building aforementioned is 

"to be used for the purpose of advancing the 

cure of cancer." 

Such a purpose es advancing the cure of cancer would fall Into 

each of thefour purposes set out above which were held to be 

charitable purposes in the s case, supra. 

Under these facts and the authorities cited, we are of the 

opinion paragraph four of the Mose A. Glmbel will created a valid 

charitable trust, with the Texas National Bank of Houston, Texas, 

as trustee. 
Honorable J. C. Dolley, page 6 (h'&1369) 

Having made this determination, we are next confronted 

with the question of when may the trustee act regarding the 

erection of the proposed building. The Gimbel will provides 

in paragraph four that 

"the trustee shall hold and administer 

my estate for one year after the death of my 

said sister, or until the new Medical Center 

adjoining Hermann Hospital is developed" 

before the erectlon of the proposed building. 

It should be noted that the two above quoted provisions 

or conditions as to when the proposed building shall be erected 

are disjunctive and not conjunctive. When either of the two has 

occurred, the building might be erected under the terms of the 

will. 

In the Instant case, we are of the opinion that both conditions have transpired. Mose A. ffimbel's sister, Tillye Gimbel, 

died between the years 1950 and 1954. 

the Texas Medical Center "is developed" 

We are of the opinion that 

within the meaning of the 

second condition mentioned above. 

Webster's New International Dictionary, Second Edition, 

1958, defines develop in part: 

11 

. . . 

"5. to make more available or usable; as to 

develop water power, natural resources, or building 

sites. 

11 

. . . 

"13. Real Estate. To convert from a tract 

of raw land Into an area suitable for residential 

or business uses." 

From the brochure regarding the Texas Medical Center attached to your opinion request, it is noted that over 56 mlllion dollars worth of buildings have been built In the Center. 

Capital Investments In all units exceed 94 million dollars: the 

annual budgets are in excess of 35 million dollars; streets 

have been built for the entire area and subdivision plans prepared therefor. Certainly ,the Texas Medical Center is developed 
Honorable J. C. Dolley, page 7 (WW-1369) 

within the language of Mose A. Gimbel's will and charitable 

trust. We are of the opinion both conditions have occurred. 

The 

quest are: . 

third and fourth questions presented by your reDoes the M. D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute constitute a charitable beneficiary under paragraph four of 

Mose A. Gimbel's will to which his trustee Is authorized to 

grant the proposed building or funds, therefor, and, if it does 

constitute ,a charitable beneficiary, will the structure proposed 

to be built constitute a building under the terms of the will? 

The M. D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute is a State 

Institution created by H. B. 268, Acts 47th Leg., R.S. 1941, Ch. 

548, p. 878, and Acts 51st Leg., 1st C'.S. 1950, Ch. 

P. and is a unit of The University of Texas Systim 

operating under the control and management of the Hoard of Regents of the University of Texas. 

The Hoard of Regents determined to locate the M. D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute in the Texas Medical Center in 

Houston. The Hoard of Directors of The Texas Medical Center has 

designated The University of Texas M.~Di Anderson Hospital and 

Turmor Institute as the official institution for cancer research 

and care within the Center. 

Under these facts, in our opinion, The University of Texas 

M. D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute constitutes a valid, 

legal, charitable beneficiary under the terms of the Mose A. 

Glmbel will to receive the building or funds, therefor, proposed 

by paragraph four of the will from the Texas National Hank as 

trustee of said trust and co-executor of said estate and from 

Herbert S. Glmbel, co-executor of said estate. 

In 12 C.J.S. 379, building, as a noun, is defined in 

part: 

11 

. . . fin7 addition to a building already 

constructed,-wiiere it forms SO considerable part 

of the original building as to constitute a new 

building . . . ' 

To this same effect are 'Willis v. Hoyd, 29 S.E. 707, 103 

Ga. 130; Rice v. Hoard of Police Com'rs. of City of Wornsocket, 

97 A. 19, 39 R.1. 22. 

In the instant case, it is proposed that the new building 

shall have seven new floors of 4,200 square feet floor space each, 
Honorable J. C. Dolley, page 8 (W-1369) 

an elevator, and is to be constructed at a cost of $1,058,400. 

This new building will have plaques placed at each entrance 

thereto stating that the building Is 

Dedicated in Memory of 

Louis and Amelia Glmbel 

by 

Mose A. Gimbel. 

We are of the opinion that under these facts the proposed building comes within the purview andintent of paragraph 

four of the Mose A. Gimbel will. 

Finally, we are confronted with the question of whether 

The University of Texas can accept the proposed grant from the 

trustee of the Mose A. Gimbel trust. By the provisions of 

Article 2603e, Section 12, Vernon's Civil Statutes, The University of Texas is authorized to accept grants or gifts from 

other than State sources on behalf of the M. D. Anderson Hospital 

and Tumor Institute, Texas Medical Center, Houston, Texas. It 

might also be pointed out that under the Appropriation Act of 

the 57th Legislature, the University is also authorized to accept gifts on behalf of the M. D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor 

Institute. 

Therefore, we are of the opinion that the Board of 

Trustees of The University of Texas is authorized to accept 

the grant from the Texas National Bank, trustee of the Mose A. 

Gimbel charitable trust set forth In paragraph four of his 

will. 

SUMMARY 

Paragraph four of the Mose A. Gimbel will 

creates a valid charitable trust. The 

proposed grant by the Texas National Bank 

of Houston, Texas, trustee of the Mose A. 

Gimbel trust of a building to be erected on 

the north end of the Clinical Services 

Wing of the M. D. Anderson Hospital and 

Tumor Institute is a valid zrant to The 

University of Texas under the terms of the 

Mose A. Glmbel will and trust, which The 

University of Texas Is authorized to accept. 

MR:afg:me 

Yours very truly, 

WILL WILSON 

Attorney General of Texas 

Milton Richardson 

Assistant Attorney General 
Honorable J. C. Dolley, Page 9 (WW-1369) 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

W. V. Geppert, Chairman 

John Reeves 

Bob Shannon 

Robert Lewis 

Grady Chandler 

REVIEWEDFOR THEATTORNEYGENERAL 

BY: Houghton Brownlee, Jr.