Phillips v Royal Society for the Protection of Birds: Construction of a Gift to a Dissolved Charitable Company

Abstract

Even the best laid plans can go wrong, and where a charitable bequest turns out to be impossible to effect, the law must construct the will in order to decide how the testator’s gift can best be distributed. In Phillips v Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, an executor requested instructions from the High Court after finding that a charitable company nominated in the will had dissolved after the testatrix’s death, but before he was able apply the gift. This note analyses the rules of construction as they were applied to complex facts and considers the wider impact of the judgment.

Keywords: Incorporated charity, animal sanctuary, cypres, succession law, charity law, non-profits