Opinion ID: 6333186
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Parish Analysis Summary

Text: According to the five opinions of the 2017 Court, express accession to the Dennis Canon is sufficient to create a trust under South Carolina law. Accordingly, we find express accession occurs under the 2017 Court's collective ruling when the governing body of a Parish states in an official document of the Parish, such as a constitution or bylaws, that the Parish adopts or accedes to the Canons of the National Church, coupled with the Parish's knowledge of the Dennis Canon and participation in adopting the Diocesan Canon indicating the present intent to create a trust. The Parish's formal adoption of the constitutional provision or bylaw satisfies the writing and signature requirements of our trust law. Under these circumstances, the formal adoption of the document indicates the governing body of the Parish took the action with the intent of complying with the National Church's demand set forth in the Dennis Canon and thus intentionally created a trust. Under this analysis, we are satisfied fourteen Parishes created a trust in favor of the National Church and its diocese by their express accession to the Dennis Canon. The remaining fifteen Parishes, however, either did not take the necessary actions or did not have the requisite intent to create a trust under South Carolina trust law.