This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

Decedent willed his entire estate to Ricker Classical Institute and Ricker College to be held in trust with the net income to be used for general purposes by the Board of Trustees of the College. Several months after the death of decedent, Ricker College was adjudicated bankrupt in a Chapter 11 proceeding initiated in 1974. The executor petitioned for directions. The superior court ordered the matter to be heard by a referee. The college trustees urged that they be permitted to hold the bequest in trust for college scholarships for Maine students. The referee appointed by the court found a general charitable intent and recommended the application of cy pres to allocate the estate in equal shares to three colleges. The court agreed and held a hearing but refused to enlarge the scope of the hearing to include consideration of the Ricker proposal; the decedent intended to support a functioning school.

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