Standing to Enforce Charitable Trust

On December 28, 2006, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court released its opinion in In re Milton Hershey School and Hershey Trust Company holding that the Milton Hershey School Alumni Association lacked standing to complain about actions of the governing Board of Trustees of the Milton Hershey School which was established as a charitable trust by the Last Will of Milton Hershey.  Instead, the state attorney general has authority to enforce the trust. The Alumni Association does not obtain standing merely because it is unhappy with the attorney general’s actions.

For a detailed analysis of this case, see Neil E. Hendershot, Milton Hershey School: Trustees Rule, PA Elder, Estate & Fiduciary Law Blog, Jan. 2, 2007.