Executory trusts: the scope for their creation (including within fundraising appeals)

This article seeks to explain what is meant by an ‘executory trust’. It argues that widely cited case law, suggesting an executory trust is only valid if it includes a highly detailed explanation of the intended final trust, is inconsistent with the weight of authority overall and may be wrong. And it argues that fundraising appeal collections may often give rise to executory trusts. Accordingly, it is suggested that executory trusts—a topic only mentioned at all in about half of trusts textbooks—may be more practically significant than is usually thought.