Olliffe v. Wells
Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts
130 Mass. 221 (1881)
Donovan's will left the residue of her estate to Reverend Wells (defendant) to be distributed "to carry out wishes which I have expressed to him or may express to him," without stating the trust's actual terms in the will; Wells confirmed in his answer that Donovan had orally told him she wanted the residue used for charitable purposes benefiting a particular mission, which the heirs (plaintiffs) did not dispute factually, but they challenged the devise's validity and sought the residue for themselves.
Whether extrinsic evidence may be used to prove the terms of an intended trust, and thereby save it from failing for indefiniteness, where the will devises property in trust but the trust's terms were communicated outside the will itself.