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A charitable company limited by guarantee (CLG) registered with Companies House in 1993 but is not registered with the Charity Commission (CC). Should they be registered with both and was/is there an exemption for CC registration of a CLG before a certain date?
Q&As
Registration at the Charity Commission (CC) is generally required for organisations that are charitable in nature although there are certain exceptions. On this point, see Practice Notes: Charity creation—legal points at Charity creation—legal points—Charity registration and Charity registration—when to register. We cannot trace any reference to the situation in 1993 although registration would have been regulated by either of the
A charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) with a standard association model constitution is seeking to make changes to its existing fee structure for members. What steps are required (if any) from a charity law position and do they need to update the Charity Commission?
Q&As
The steps that are required to implement a new fee structure will depend upon whether the existing fee structure is specified in the CIO’s constitution. The Charity Commission has given two alternative forms of constitution for CIOs; a foundation constitution, designed for CIOs with charity trustees who are the only voting members, and an association constitution , designed for those CIOs with a wider membership and voting powers. A CIO’s constitution must be in one of these forms specified by Commission regulations, or as near to that form as the circumstances allow. For the purposes of this Q&A, it has been assumed that the CIO has an association constitution. If it mirrors the model association constitution closely, this means it will give a general discretion for the charity to set and charge membership fees as it sees fit,
A charitable trust is looking to dissolve. The trust will spend all of its funds accordingly. What is the practical process for winding up a trust and, more specifically, what resolutions must be passed at the final meeting(s) of the board of trustees?
Q&As
There are a number of reasons why a charity or charitable trust may need to be closed. These may include the original purpose ceasing to exist; the loss of funding; the merger with another charitable institution, or other reasons. However, trustees of a charitable trust do not have automatic powers to wind up the trust, unlike, for example, directors of a company. It is necessary firstly to consider the governing document—the underlying trust deed. This may contain provisions relating to the powers of trustees to dissolve the trust as well as in respect of the application of any surplus funds. The trust deed may set out the obligation of the trustees to call a meeting of members and obtain authorisation, or it may set out the basis
A charities constitution says it has to have a minimum of four trustees to make decisions. Two trustees have recently resigned going against the constitution rules and leaving the charity with three trustees. The trustees resigned as they refused to agree with a specific action that needed to be taken for the company to start operating again after coronavirus (COVID-19). The remaining trustees cannot appoint new trustees as they cannot get anyone willing to do the role because of the disagreements. What can the remaining trustees do in this situation to protect their liability if they are not able to make decisions as per their constitution? Is there any other way they can make decisions?
Q&As
It is unclear from the question how the charity is constituted. For the purposes of this response we have assumed that it is either a private company limited by guarantee or a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) (as described in Practice Note: Charities—governing documents). In the case of the CIO, it has been further assumed that the ‘foundation’ model of CIO has been adopted, which
A charity becomes absolutely entitled to the trust fund (comprised of shares) on the death of the life tenant. If a chargeable gain on the shares arises between the date of death of the life tenant and the date of sale, can the trustees of the life interest trust appropriate the shares to the charity so that it can sell the shares without incurring a chargeable gain? Is there a precedent for appropriation by trustees?
Q&As
We refer you to the Practice Note: Tax treatment of capital received by beneficiaries
A charity has raised funds to restore an important historical object which the charity owns. Where one of the charity trustees has the necessary skill to carry out the restoration work and the charity would like that trustee to do the work, can the charity obtain a number of external quotes and then pick the trustee to carry out the works anyway?
Q&As
The matter may not be as simple as obtaining some external quotes. The first port of call should be the charity's constitution. If the constitution does not permit charity trustees to be paid, then paying a charity trustee to carry out the restoration work may not be possible. If the constitution does allow charity trustees to be paid, then, technically speaking, there may be no need to obtain
A charity holds a large donation from an earlier fundraising campaign which the charity has not yet spent, for a project which has now been completed thus rendering the donation surplus to the needs of that project. Is it possible to apply the surplus donation to a new project when the donor is no longer alive?
Q&As
The starting point is to double check the paperwork that exists in order to determine the purposes for which the gift was made in the first place and to see whether there is a legally binding restriction in place, or whether any restriction was applied by the charity trustees themselves. If there is a restriction,
A charity is the residuary beneficiary of an estate. If a claim is brought under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 against the estate by the deceased's long-term partner, what are the inheritance tax implications if the charity settles such a claim by varying the Will to make provision for the partner?
Q&As
The interaction of the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (I(PFD)A 1975) with the inheritance tax (IHT) regime can be complex, and is the subject of comprehensive treatment in: Chapter 14 of Inheritance Act Claim: Law Practice and Procedure as well as in specialist IHT text books. The IHT implications of a settlement by a charity (which is exempt from IHT on the legacy it receives) in favour of a partner (who is not exempt, assuming the
A charity wishes to assign the leasehold title to a property but, out of the five charity trustees named as registered proprietors of the property, three have died and one has retired. New trustees are running the charity but no record can be found of their formal appointment. What needs to be done in order to transfer the legal estate of the property? If the new trustees need to be made parties to the transfer and evidence of their appointment cannot be found, how should this be dealt with? (There is a restriction on title re: dispositions under section 37(2) of the Charities Act 1993).
Q&As
The Charities Act 1993 was repealed some while ago. Irrespective of this charities must now comply with the provisions relating to the transfer of land found in sections 117–129 of the Charities Act 2011 (CA 2011). In general, charity land may not be disposed of without an order of the court or the Charity Commission (CA 2011, s 117(1)). This is pertinent to the issue you raise as those requirements do not apply
A child arrangements order (CAO) was made in relation to contact. The parties then reconciled and the CAO was not adhered to. They then separated again and contact broke down. Has the original CAO lapsed due to the reconciliation and a fresh application to the court required, or can the original CAO be enforced?
Q&As
Section 11(5) of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) provides that where a child arrangements order (CAO) has been made with respect to a child, and the child has two parents who each have parental responsibility for the child, the order, so far as it has the result that there are times when the child lives or is to live with one of the parents, shall cease to have effect if the parents live together for a continuous period of more than six months. Similarly, ChA 1989, s 11(6) provides that a CAO, so far as it provides
A child arrangements order has been made as to contact, and the address at which overnight contact will take place is set out in the recitals to the order, but not as an undertaking, nor is it referred to in the order. The non-resident parent intends to move house and live with a new partner, but the other parent will not co-operate as to the change of address for overnight contact. Can a letter be sent to the court and the other parent to advise of the change of address, on the basis that the court cannot vary a recital as opposed to an order?
Q&As
The proposed course of action of sending a letter to the court and the other party of the change of address seems sensible and proportionate. However, one should address whether there is any particular significance to the current address or, conversely, any drawbacks to the proposed address, for example, unsuitable accommodation. Does the proposed
A child arrangements order has been made as to contact. The non-resident parent has moved house but has refused to provide the other parent with details of their new address, what steps can be taken by the resident parent to obtain the address in case it is needed.
Q&As
The steps that may be taken to obtain details of the non-resident parent's address will be dependent on the facts of the case and whether it is proportionate to take such steps. In some cases where there are relevant concerns, the address at which contact may take place may be specified in the child arrangements order. The parent with care may have particular concerns about the suitability of the accommodation that the child will be taken to, they may also be concerned as