HRS §554D-413
What happens when a charity's goal can't be met
If a charity's purpose becomes illegal, impossible, or wasteful, the trust can be changed or ended by a court, and the money used for a similar charitable goal. This doesn't happen if the trust document already says what to do instead. The attorney general must be told about any such court case.
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The statute, as written — Cy pres
(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b), if a particular charitable purpose becomes unlawful, impracticable, impossible to achieve, or wasteful: (1) The trust does not fail, in whole or in part; (2) The trust property does not revert to the settlor or the settlor's successors in interest; and (3) The court may apply cy pres to modify or terminate the trust by directing that the trust property be applied or distributed, in whole or in part, in a manner consistent with the settlor's charitable purposes. (b) Subsection (a) shall not apply if the document creating the charitable interest expressly provides for an alternate disposition of the charitable interest if the charitable purpose becomes unlawful, impracticable, impossible to achieve, or wasteful. A general residuary disposition by trust shall not be considered an express provision for an alternate disposition. In addition, if the alternative plan is also a charitable trust and that trust fails, the intention shown in the original plan shall prevail in the application of this section. (c) In every cy pres proceeding, the attorney general shall be notified and given an opportunity to be heard.
LawTrove is not legal advice. The summary above is a computer-generated restatement — the authoritative text is the official version linked above.