Can I attach conditions to a charitable gift in my will, and will Ontario courts enforce them?

You generally can attach conditions to a charitable gift, for example requiring the funds be used for a specific program, or directing that a gift only take effect if the charity still exists and is still operating in a particular way at your death. Ontario courts will generally try to enforce clearly written, lawful conditions that don't conflict with public policy, but enforcement isn't automatic or guaranteed in every case, and poorly worded conditions can create real problems.

Conditions that are too vague, impossible to satisfy, or that a court finds contrary to public policy can be found invalid, and what happens next depends on how the condition was structured. Some invalid conditions can simply be struck out while the underlying gift still proceeds; others, particularly where the condition was essential to why you were making the gift at all, can cause the whole gift to fail. This is a nuanced, fact-specific area where the exact wording genuinely changes the outcome.

If you want a charitable gift to come with strings attached, work with a lawyer and, ideally, the charity itself to make sure the wording is clear enough to hold up and reflects something the charity can actually deliver on.