What happens if a will leaves a conditional gift to a charity and the charity refuses to accept the condition?

A charity generally isn't obligated to accept a gift on terms it doesn't want, so if it refuses the condition attached to your gift, the outcome depends on how the will is worded and what type of condition was involved. If the will included a workable alternative, such as a backup charity, or language letting the gift proceed without the condition if the first choice won't accept it, that alternative generally takes effect. Without any such fallback language, the estate trustee may need legal advice, and potentially a court's direction, to determine whether the gift fails entirely, whether it can still be paid without the condition, or whether a similar redirection, along the lines of the cy-près doctrine used for charities that no longer exist, might apply.

This kind of dispute is entirely avoidable with better drafting. Before finalizing a will that attaches conditions to a charitable gift, it's genuinely worth contacting the charity in advance to confirm whether they can and will accept the proposed condition, since many charities are willing to say so clearly ahead of time rather than leaving the question unresolved until after death.

Build in a clear fallback option in the will itself, so the gift doesn't depend entirely on the charity's after-the-fact agreement.