Restatement of the Law (Third) Trusts, 2 vols.

• Position: Brief Article - Book Review

The American Law Institute presents a contemporary treatment of trust law with its new Restatement of the Law Third, Trusts, Volumes 1 and 2.

The volumes cover the nature, creation, and elements of trusts. Drawing both on court decisions and on statutes, the volumes provide guidance to legislators, judges, and especially to those who counsel trustees and beneficiaries and who endeavor to draft trusts that will accurately reflect the intentions of donors. The Restatement provides guidance and rationale as to what courts may or may not regard as legitimate charitable purposes and what are appropriate applications of the cy pres doctrine.

Using language that provides for a continuing evolution of social attitudes and individual objectives, these new volumes include consideration of permissible private and charitable purposes and of trust law policy, which has become...