The High Court refused an executor’s application to redirect a charitable bequest in Patrick Jordan’s will after finding that the will did not express a general charitable intention. The court said the residuary estate must instead be distributed under the Succession Act 1965.
Mr Jordan’s will, dated 5 May 1999, divided the residue of his estate between two purposes: four fifths to the Derek Jordan Memorial Fund, care of the London Federation of Boys Clubs, and one fifth for the benefit of Cameron Athan Boys Club in London. The will provided that the one-fifth share would revert to the memorial fund if the boys’ club ceased to exist.
The memorial fund had never been established by the time Mr Jordan died on 11 January 2012. Cameron Athan Boys Club had been wound up, and its remaining assets were transferred to the Jimmy Dixon Charitable Trust in 2009. The Federation of London Youth Clubs, formerly known as the London Federation of Boys Clubs, is a registered charity.
The executor, Christopher Carolan, asked the court to apply the doctrine of cy-près to give effect to the charitable bequest. Alternatively, he sought an order applying the residue in favour of the Federation of London Youth Clubs. The application was heard on 14 January 2014.
The court explained that cy-près may apply where a gift reflects a general charitable intention but its specified purpose cannot be carried out. It said the court had to construe the will and could not simply redirect the gift to a purpose it considered close to the testator’s wishes.
Justice White Michael found that the bequest was intended to honour the memory of Derek Jordan through a fund in his name. The will did not establish a broader intention to benefit charity generally, the judge concluded. Because no general charitable intention was expressed, the court said it could not apply cy-près. The judgment, delivered on 6 March 2014, directed that the residue be distributed in accordance with the Succession Act 1965.