Editing Presbyterian Church (USA) (section)

===Property ownership===
[[File:Westminster Presbyterian Church (Dayton, OH).jpg|thumb|334x334px|[[Westminster Presbyterian Church (Dayton)|Westminster Presbyterian Church]] (Dayton, OH)]]
PC(USA)'s book of order includes a "trust clause", under which the presbytery may assert a claim to the property of the congregation in the event of a congregational split, dissolution (closing), or disassociation from the PC(USA). In interpreting this trust clause, PC(USA) does not consider equitable factors such as the congregation's relative contribution to the financing of its property, or the relative percentage of members voting to disassociate. Nor does PC(USA) consider legal factors of state trust law such as written consent to the trust in the property's title deed or the congregation's bylaws.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Section 2 - Property - Legal Resource Manual |url=https://www.presbyterianmission.org/sites/default/files/2024-10/Section%202%20-%20Property%20-%20Legal%20Resource%20Manual.pdf |website=Presbyterian Mission Agency |access-date=December 25, 2024}}</ref> The trust clause does not prevent particular churches from leaving the denomination, but if they do, they may not be permitted to keep their real property unless by agreement with the presbytery. This provision, and a similar provision of the Episcopal Church, has been tested in various courts, with mixed results.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Protestant Episcopal Church v. The Episcopal Church |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/south-carolina/supreme-court/2022/28095.html}}</ref>