Barnwell's Estate

Citations

• 269 Pa. 443
• 112 A. 535
• 1921 Pa. LEXIS 583

Syllabus

<p>Trusts and trustees — Charitable trusts — Inculcating principles of honor and moral courage among students of a particular public school — Indefiniteness—Wills.</p> <p>1. A bequest creates a charitable trust, where its intention is to “inculcate” the “highest principles of honor and moral courage” among the “students” and “graduates” of a well-known public high school for young men, in a great city and to practically encourage and reward “the practice” of such “high principles.”</p> <p>2. Such a trust will have a tendency to promote the well-doing and well-being of an indefinite number of persons.</p> <p>3. The question, in such case, is not whether the testator created a technical public charity, but whether he set up a charitable trust.</p> <p>4. The fact that testator did not formulate practical plans for carrying his broadly conceived charitable idea into effect, is of no moment, so long as his general intent is ascertainable, and he has vested others with authority to work out and put in operation the details necessary to make his idea of practical use to those he intended to benefit.</p> <p>5. Such a trust cannot be pronounced illegal for indefiniteness.</p>