The Law of Trusts and Charities - Case Study Example

The word charity is deeply rooted in human nature and is linked to the provision of emotional, material or spiritual support to the needy and instinctively appeals to human nature. Capitalizing on the words of Sir William Grant in Morice v Bishop of Durham, the authors of Tudor on Charities note that:Even so, philanthropic donations and intentions require some measure of institutional regulation in order to ensure that its welfare purposes are complied with. The law of trust is the legal framework “most widely adopted to provide that institutional structure.

” In this regard, the law of trust, however, has been modified to accord some relaxation of the ordinary trust laws. This is a testament to the highly flexible and adaptable nature of trust laws and its suitability to the charitable trust.The law regulating charities as it currently stands emerged during the latter part of the 19th century and was largely influenced by social welfare characteristics of the British society. S Moffat, Bean, and Dewar explain, “the funds and energies of private philanthropists and charity workers” were entirely inadequate for coping with the growing incidents of “poverty, disease, and homelessness.

” By the time the First World War started the State had taken significant steps in providing welfare to the public. In this regard, private philanthropy became a “junior partner” with the state in the provision of welfare. Charitable trusts are also typically exempt from the application of the perpetuities restrictions. Although the typical life plus 21 years apply, charities will continue to have the benefit of a trust upon the expiration of that period, provided the trust itself complied with the perpetuities restrictions upon its creation.