Who Is Entitled to Bequest Left to Dissolved Church?
N.J. appellate court affirms trial court decision granting fund to nearby local church, not Presbytery
In December, 2010, Ruth Stumm executed her will, leaving one-eighth of the residue of her estate to the First Presbyterian Church of Wood-Ridge, N.J., “or its successor” to establish an endowment in the name of a local resident.
In 2015, she was declared mentally incompetent and she died in 2016. The Wood-Ridge church had dissolved in 2014 and transferred all of its assets to the Presbytery of the Palisades, its legal successor. Her executor asked the court for “instructions” on the rightful recipient of the residue.
Request for membership list survives motion to dismiss
A timeshare owner’s request to copy the membership list of the timeshare owners’ association has survived the Association’s motion to dismiss. A trial court in New York has rejected a series of arguments that the owner’s purpose in seeking the names is antithetical to the interests of the organization.
Be careful what you ask for
Brentwood War Memorial, a local post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, allegedly charged a $5 cover charge for the 14 members and guests who came to the Post on November 22, 2014 and watched a pay-per-view prize fight between Manny Pacquiao and Chris Algieri. According to J & J Sports Productions, which claimed it had exclusive nationwide commercial distribution rights on the fight, the Post did not pay for a license to show the event. J & J filed suit in the federal Eastern District Court in New York.
Trust to hold residue “in perpetuity” is not charitable
Ollie Waid, Jr. established a revocable living trust in 2010 and made several revisions before he died in 2018. The final version provides that, after making some specific bequests to individuals and charities, the trustee “shall hold, distribute and pay the remaining principal and undistributed income in perpetuity; subject, however, to limitations imposed by law.” The residuary estate was valued at approximately $4.6 million.
Who Has Authority to Increase Dues For Girl Scouts of USA?
Court rules that National Council of representatives has exclusive authority, denying authority of National Board
The Supreme Court of Alaska has ruled that only the National Council of the Girl Scouts of the United States, a representative body that meets every three years to elect members of the National Board of Directors, has authority to increase the dues for Girl Scouts across the country, and has held that a $10 increase approved by the National Board in 2016 is improper.