Opinion ID: 2343373
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Dr Kimbrough's Charitable Intent

Text: The question remains what Dr. Kimbrough would desire if he knew that his gift could not be used by the Dental Alumni Development Fund for the continued operation and prestige of the dental school. [T]he accomplishment of the ultimate purpose of the testator is the matter of paramount importance and its achievement must be the object of any judicial permission to alter or deviate from the trust terms. Reed v. Eagleton, 384 S.W.2d 578, 586 (Mo.1964). The Court considers whether unforeseen circumstances have arisen that threaten the fulfillment of the charity and whether or not such circumstances warrant a court's exercise of its jurisdiction to enforce and protect charitable trusts. Id. at 585-86. In discerning the intent of the grantor, the basic equitable issue is what the settlor would desire if he or she knew that the trust could not be carried out. Levings, 512 S.W.2d at 211. A court is required to consider all the surrounding circumstances evidencing the grantor's intent. See First Nat'l Bank of Kansas City v. Jacques, 470 S.W.2d at 560. To adhere too strictly to the words of the testator may result in the defeat of the testator's ultimate purpose. IVA SCOTT ON TRUSTS, sec. 399.4, p. 535 (4th ed.1989). If the testator intended to make the property useful for charitable purposes, to render it useless for such purposes defeats the testator's intention. Id. Under the guise of fulfilling a bequest, this is making a dead man's intentions for a single day a rule for subsequent centuries, when we know not whether he himself would have made it a rule even for the morrow. John Stuart Mill, quoted in IVA SCOTT ON TRUSTS, sec. 399 at 535. The record repeatedly shows that Dr. Kimbrough loved dentistry and was very proud of his profession. Dr. Kimbrough graduated from the Washington University Dental School, taught at the Washington University Dental School, gave unrestricted gifts to Washington University, and left the remainder of his trust to Washington University, not to the dental school. This Court agrees with the circuit court's conclusion that Dr. Kimbrough's charitable intent was to further education and dental medicine at Washington University. There is no evidence that Dr. Kimbrough wanted his gift so narrowly drawn and so inflexible that if it could not be used in a specifically named fund, it should lapse. The circuit court's decision to establish one or two chairs in Dr. Kimbrough's name for research and practice in dental fields is consistent with Dr. Kimbrough's charitable intent. From 1954 to 1963, Dr. Kimbrough made 11 gifts to Washington University, including gifts to the Dental Alumni Development Fund, the Washington University School of Medicine, the Second Century Development Program, the Alumni Fund, and the Century Club. The gift in question was made to Washington University, not to the dental school. The only limitation on the gift was that it be used in the fund. The fact that Dr. Kimbrough made multiple other inter vivos gifts to Washington University that were unrelated to the dental school suggests that he had a general charitable intent to support dental education at Washington University, not only through the Dental Alumni Development Fund. This Court also recognizes that under the tax law in effect before 1969, virtually all charitable remainder trusts provided substantial tax savings to the grantor's estate. See Ellis First Nat'l Bank v. United States, 213 Ct.Cl. 44, 550 F.2d 9, 11-12 (Ct. Cl. 1977). Dr. Kimbrough's 1955 amendment to the trust, giving the remainder interest to Washington University as opposed to his heirs, was essential to the tax savings and may be evidence of his general charitable intent.