Under the public policy restrictions on trusts, which action is permitted?

• A. Cite or screen ethnicity or religion
• B. Prescribe marriage or promote divorce
• C. Discriminate against a protected class
• D. Disallow widow support until remarriage

Answer: (A)

Public policy limits on trusts stop terms that try to force personal life choices or discriminate against people based on protected characteristics. But defining who will benefit by ethnicity or religion can be allowed when the trust’s purpose is religious or charitable and the class is properly described. In that sense, citing or screening for ethnicity or religion simply sets the eligibility of beneficiaries for a trust that serves a religious or ethnic community or a charitable goal, which can be permissible.

The other ideas would run afoul of public policy: prescribing marriage or promoting divorce would coercively shape intimate relationships; discriminating against a protected class directly violates non-discrimination principles; and disallowing widow support until remarriage imposes a remarriage condition on a vulnerable beneficiary.