2023 New York Laws › EPT - Estates, Powers and Trusts › Article 8 - Charitable Trusts › Part 1 - Rules Governing Charitable Trusts › 8-1.1 - Disposition of Property for Charitable Purposes

§ 8-1.1 Disposition of property for charitable purposes
(a)  No disposition of property for religious, charitable, educational
or benevolent purposes, otherwise valid under the laws of this state, is
invalid by reason of the indefiniteness or uncertainty  of  the  persons
designated  as  beneficiaries.  If  a  trustee is named in the disposing
instrument, legal title to the property transferred for such  a  purpose
vests  in such trustee; if no person is named as trustee, title vests in
the court having jurisdiction over the trust.
(b) No disposition of property made in a will, executed  and  attested
as  prescribed  by  law,  is  invalid  by reason of the incorporation by
reference in the will of any existing written resolution, declaration or
deed of trust, identified in such  will  and  made  or  adopted  by  any
corporation  authorized  by  law to execute or accept trusts, to assist,
encourage and promote  the  well-being  and  well-doing  of  mankind  in
general or the inhabitants of any community in particular; provided that
a  copy  of  such  resolution,  declaration or deed of trust, certified,
under its corporate seal, by the secretary or assistant secretary or the
cashier or assistant cashier of such corporation, is filed for record in
the office of the secretary of state and in the office of the  clerk  or
register of the county of the corporation's principal place of business,
in  which  the  conveyances  of  real property are required by law to be
filed for record, the secretary of state and the officer  in  charge  of
such  record  office being hereby authorized and directed to receive and
record such resolution, declaration or deed of trust upon payment of the
fees provided by law. Any such testamentary disposition to a corporation
for the religious, charitable, educational or  benevolent  purposes  set
forth  in  such  resolution,  declaration  or deed of trust is effective
although the terms, conditions and  purposes  of  such  disposition  are
established only through such reference in the will.
(c)  (1) The supreme court and, where the disposition is made by will,
the surrogate's court in which such will is probated  have  jurisdiction
over  dispositions referred to and authorized by paragraphs (a) and (b),
and whenever it appears to such court that circumstances have so changed
since the execution of an instrument making a disposition for religious,
charitable,  educational   or   benevolent   purposes   as   to   render
impracticable  or impossible a literal compliance with the terms of such
disposition, the court may, on application of  the  trustee  or  of  the
person  having custody of the property subject to the disposition and on
such notice as the court may direct, make an order or  decree  directing
that  such  disposition be administered and applied in such manner as in
the judgment of the court will most effectively accomplish  its  general
purposes,  free  from  any specific restriction, limitation or direction
contained therein; provided, however, that any such order or  decree  is
effective  only with the consent of the creator of the disposition if he
is living.
(2) (i) The attorney general  or  any  trustee  or  beneficiary  of  a
testamentary or lifetime trust wholly benefitting one or more charitable
beneficiaries  may petition a court of competent jurisdiction, on notice
to the attorney general and all parties interested in the trust, seeking
a termination of such trust when the trust is comprised of  assets,  the
market  value  of  which is one hundred thousand dollars or less and the
expense  of  administering  the  trust  is  uneconomic  when  considered
relative  to  income.  When  the  court finds upon such application that
continuation of the trust is economically impracticable or is not in the
best interests of the beneficiaries, the court shall make  an  order  or
decree terminating the trust and directing the distribution of the trust
assets to accomplish its charitable purposes, provided, however, that if
the  trust is one for the benefit of a particular charitable beneficiary

or beneficiaries named therein, the court shall direct the  distribution
of   the   trust   assets   to  such  named  charitable  beneficiary  or
beneficiaries, and provided further  that  no  such  proceeding  may  be
instituted  without  the consent of the creator of the disposition if he
is living.
(ii) For purposes of this paragraph, the term "charitable beneficiary"
shall mean the beneficiary of a disposition for a religious, charitable,
educational or benevolent purpose.
(d) The power of the  supreme  court  or  the  surrogate's  court,  as
provided in paragraph (c), to prevent the failure of, and to give effect
to  dispositions  for  religious,  charitable, educational or benevolent
purposes is not defeated by the circumstance that the beneficiary of any
such disposition does not exist or, if in existence, lacks  capacity  to
take  such  disposition at the time it would otherwise become effective,
whether or not the disposition creates an express  trust  to  effectuate
its purposes.
(e)  Any accumulation of income from property subject to a disposition
in trust for a religious, charitable, educational or benevolent purpose,
or otherwise acquired by such trust, shall in  all  respects,  including
its  reasonableness,  amount and duration, be within the jurisdiction of
the supreme court or the surrogate's court,  as  the  case  may  be.  In
exercising such jurisdiction, (1) any accumulation of income which might
otherwise  be applied for the purposes of the trust may be prohibited or
limited, despite a valid direction therefor in the trust  instrument  or
authority  therefor  under  8-1.7  and  (2)  such an accumulation may be
authorized by order of the court despite  the  absence  of  a  direction
therefor  in  the trust instrument. This paragraph shall not restrict in
any manner the ability to release or  modify  restrictions  relating  to
institutional  funds under section 555 of the not-for-profit corporation
law.
(f) The attorney general shall represent  the  beneficiaries  of  such
dispositions   for  religious,  charitable,  educational  or  benevolent
purposes and it shall  be  his  duty  to  enforce  the  rights  of  such
beneficiaries by appropriate proceedings in the courts.
(g)  The  supreme  court or the surrogate's court, as the case may be,
may authorize the trustee or any person holding title thereto  to  sell,
mortgage  or  lease  any  real  property  which  is  the  subject  of  a
disposition for  a  religious,  charitable,  educational  or  benevolent
purpose,  whenever it appears to the satisfaction of the court that such
real property, or any part thereof, has become or is  likely  to  become
unproductive,  has depreciated or is likely to depreciate in value, that
it is advisable to raise  money  to  improve  or  erect  buildings  upon
property  so held or that it is expedient for any other reason that such
real property be sold, mortgaged or leased.  This  paragraph  shall  not
restrict  in any manner the powers or rights any trustee may have by law
or by the  terms  of  any  disposition  of  such  real  property.    The
provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to any corporation which is
subject  to  sections  509 through 511 of the not-for-profit corporation
law.
(h) The supreme court or the surrogate's court shall not make an order
or decree under paragraph (g) unless it appears that eight days  written
notice,  stating the time and place of the application for such order or
decree, has been served upon the attorney general, who  shall  represent
the  state,  the  beneficiaries  of  any trust and the persons who might
benefit  from  the  religious,  charitable,  educational  or  benevolent
purpose  for  which  the  real  property,  which  is  the subject of the
application, is held. A like eight days notice of such application shall
be given to any adult within the state who has a  vested  or  contingent

future  estate  in  such  real  property  and to any minor, incompetent,
conservatee or absentee who is interested  in  such  property,  in  such
manner  as  the court may direct. Before making a final order or decree,
the  court  shall  appoint  a guardian ad litem for any minor who is not
represented by a guardian or parent, for  any  incompetent  who  is  not
represented by a committee, and for any absentee.
(i)  A sale, mortgage or lease made, as required by law, in accordance
with an order or decree of a  court  under  this  section  is  effective
against  the  state as representative of the beneficiaries of such trust
and persons who might benefit from the  purposes  for  which  such  real
property is held, and against persons with a vested or contingent future
interest  in  such  property  and  minors,  incompetents,  conservatees,
absentees and persons  not  in  being  who  have  an  interest  in  such
property,  as well as all other persons who, having been made parties to
such proceeding,  consent  to  such  order  or  decree.  The  purchaser,
mortgagee  or  lessee,  or  any person claiming under them, shall not be
responsible for the disposition  of  the  proceeds  of  any  such  sale,
mortgage or lease.
(j)  Whenever  a  voluntary  association or committee has received, by
public subscription, a fund for a charitable or benevolent purpose  from
more  than  one  thousand  contributors,  a  portion  of  which  remains
unexpended after the expiration of five  years  from  the  time  of  its
receipt,  and it appears that a literal compliance with the terms of the
subscription is impracticable, the  supreme  court  may  make  an  order
directing that such unexpended balance be transferred for administration
and  application  to such domestic corporation as in the judgment of the
court will most effectively accomplish the  general  purpose  for  which
such  fund  was  collected,  free  from  any  restriction, limitation or
direction upon which the subscription was made; and on the  transfer  of
such  fund  to  the  corporation designated in the order, such voluntary
association, its officers  and  trustees,  or  such  committee  and  its
officers  shall be fully exonerated and discharged from all liability to
account for such fund. This paragraph shall not restrict in  any  manner
the  ability to release or modify restrictions relating to institutional
funds under section 555 of the not-for-profit corporation law.
(k) An order shall be made under paragraph (j) on the  application  of
the association or the treasurer of the committee, having custody of the
unexpended  balance,  on  twenty  days  personal  notice to the attorney
general and notice by publication once a week for four consecutive weeks
in a newspaper of general circulation published in the county  in  which
the  treasurer  of  such  association  or  committee  resides.  If  such
treasurer resides outside of the state, such notice shall  be  published
in the county in which at least ten per cent of the contributors of such
fund  resided  at the time of its receipt or in such other manner as the
court may direct to the  contributors  as  a  class,  to  ten  specified
members  of  such  class  and to the trustees of such association or the
surviving members of such committee.
(l) Where public subscriptions for charitable or  benevolent  purposes
were  made  or  begun  prior to the year nineteen hundred twenty and the
total number of subscribers exceeded five hundred but were less than one
thousand, any unexpended balance of a fund  obtained  for  such  purpose
which,  at  the  time  this section takes effect, is in the custody of a
surviving member of a committee may be transferred  for  administration,
on  the  application  of  such  surviving member, in accordance with the
procedure and with the effect set forth in paragraphs (j) and (k).