Facts:

A testator left his entire estate to the defendant, and at his deathbed told the defendant he had made some  instructions in a letter to dispose some of the properties to certain friends and relatives of the testator. The testator concluded the letter by saying that he did not expect the defendant to carry out the instruction strictly but to use his judgement  as he thought the testator would use as to which of the individuals were deserving. The defendant made some of the legacies, but not others. A disappointed legatee brought an action to assert that Grogan was a trustee ( of a secret trust ) of the estate and under an obligation to distribute the estate in the terms indicated by the testator.

Held:

The House Of Lords held that no valid secret trust has been created. The obligation imposed on the defendant was merely a moral obligation , not a legal one.