Trusts and trustees — Bequests to trustees of church — Substituted trustees — Dissolution of church — Award directly to denominational corporation — Doctrine of cy pres.
1. Where a gift is made directly to a charitable or religious body for purposes which are within the powers of the corporation, it is a trustee for itself, and holds for the purposes specified in the gift. [567]
2. Such trust is a trust in the sense that the fund does not merge into the general property of the corporation but remains under the jurisdiction of a court of equity. [567]
3. Restatement, Trusts, ch. II, Introductory Note, cited. [567]
4. The orphans' court, with its control and direction of trustees in the use and disposition of property belonging to corporate charities, exercises broad visitorial and supervisory powers of the Commonwealth, and its jurisdiction is exclusive. [569]
5. Where the income of a trust for a charitable or religious purpose cannot be applied in exact conformity with the directions of the testator, it is the duty of the court to decree that the income be applied to like purposes under the cy pres doctrine. [569]
6. Where it appeared that testatrix bequeathed a specified sum to the trustees of a church, to be used for maintaining the church properties and such other church purposes as the trustees might direct; that the church merged with another church; that under the charter of the consolidated church the endowment funds of the two churches were placed in the custody of certain trustees, who, by decree of court, were appointed substituted trustees under the will of decedent; and that, subsequently, a regional governing tribunal of the denomination of which the church was a member dissolved the church, and by decree of court the church corporation was dissolved and the property of the church declared to be that of a corporation formed by the regional body to hold title to its property; it was Held that the substituted trustees should be allowed to resign and the fund should be awarded to the regional church corporation to be held in trust under the will of decedent. [565-70]
Argued April 17, 1947.
PER CURIAM, May 7, 1947:
The decree of the Orphans' Court of Philadelphia County is affirmed on the opinion of President Judge VAN DUSEN on the exceptions to the adjudication; costs to be paid by the appellant.