If a charitable trust lacks a trustee, what happens to the trust property?

• A. The property passes to the beneficiaries
• B. The Attorney General immediately takes control
• C. Title passes to the court to appoint a trustee
• D. The trust is terminated

Answer: (C)

When a charitable trust has no trustee, the court steps in to preserve the trust and appoint someone to administer it. The property is placed in the court’s control (held in trust by the court) so that a new trustee can be appointed and the charitable purposes can continue to be carried out. This mechanism prevents mismanagement or idle funds and ensures the trust remains operative.

This is the right approach because without a trustee there’s no one authorized to manage or enforce the trust, and the court has the power to safeguard the assets and oversee a replacement trustee. The Attorney General has supervisory duties over charitable trusts, but control isn’t automatically handed to the AG; the court directly handles the appointment. Terminating the trust or defaulting to beneficiaries isn’t appropriate merely due to the lack of a trustee, as the assets should be protected and redirected to proper administration rather than distribution or dissolution.