Cy Pres Doctrine
Categories: Financial Theory
Based off an old French phrase meaning “as near as possible,” cy pres doctrine refers to the legality of courts to interpret the terms of a will (or gift).
Why would the cy pres doctrine need to be invoked? If the will wishes something illegal or impractical, then, uh...something’s gotta give. Under the cy pres doctrine, the courts try to keep what was wished in the will as close as possible to what the deceased really wanted, i.e. their original intention.
Maybe you put in your will that you want all of your money to go towards opening and operating a dog shelter. But maybe you only have $50 to your name, or maybe nobody wants to open a dog shelter for you, so instead they just donate the money to a local dog shelter via cy pres doctrine.
It’s the spirit of the thing that counts, right?