## Facts

- Chester D. Crawshaw died testate on May 4, 1989, leaving the residue of his estate to two charities: 15% outright to the Salvation Army (Wichita) and 85% to a testamentary trust naming Marymount College (Salina) as trustee.
- The trust directed Marymount College to maintain a perpetual fund in Crawshaw’s name, preserve the principal, and use earnings to make loans to nursing and other students at Marymount College.
- Marymount College ceased operations on June 30, 1989, before the trust could be administered as written.
- No will provision addressed an alternate disposition if either charitable gift failed, and evidence indicated Crawshaw had no personal relationship with Marymount College.
- Marymount (through the Marymount Memorial Educational Trust Fund (MMETF)) petitioned the probate court to apply cy pres and transfer the trust share to MMETF to provide educational loans and related support to nursing and other students at other institutions.
- The Salvation Army objected, claiming the trust failed because Marymount closed and the 85% share should pass to it as the remaining residuary beneficiary.

## Issues

1. Whether the will showed a general charitable intent permitting application of cy pres under K.S.A. 1990 Supp. 59-22a01 when the original method of administration became impossible or impracticable.
2. Whether the court properly selected MMETF (and its trustee) to administer the reformed charitable trust, and whether administrative terms required modification.

## Decision

- The Kansas Supreme Court affirmed the application of cy pres, holding that the testamentary trust reflected a general charitable intent and did not fail upon Marymount College’s closure.
- The court rejected the Salvation Army’s claim that the 85% share should pass to it as the remaining residuary beneficiary.
- The court affirmed the selection of MMETF to administer the trust but modified aspects of the trial court’s order concerning administration to better implement the testator’s purpose and statutory requirements.

## Legal Principles

- Under K.S.A. 59-22a01, when a charitable trust’s specified mode of carrying out the purpose becomes impossible or impracticable, a court may modify the trust and direct administration as near as possible to the settlor’s charitable intention if general charitable intent is shown.
- General charitable intent is determined by the dominant purpose of the gift; a named institution may be treated as an instrumentality for accomplishing a broader charitable objective rather than the object of the bounty.
- When general charitable intent exists, courts favor preserving charitable gifts through cy pres rather than allowing failure that would divert the property to another beneficiary absent a clear gift-over.

## Conclusion

The court held that the trust’s core purpose was providing educational loans to nursing and other students, not supporting Marymount College as an institution; therefore, Marymount’s closure made the original administration impossible but did not defeat the charitable gift, and cy pres properly redirected the trust to MMETF to carry out a closely similar educational loan purpose, with administrative terms adjusted to conform to the testator’s intent and statutory oversight.


In re Estate of Crawshaw, 249 Kan. 388, 819 P.2d 613 (Kan. 1991)