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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-0240In re: the Albert P. Busch : In the Court of Common Pleas Charitable Trust U/W : of Cumberland County Pennsylvania : Orphans' Court Division : Zl .~_?~ ORDER AND NOW, thi: day of~ga~g_ng~, 2004, upon consideration o£ the foregoing petition and attached Letter of Consent thereto by the Office of the Attorney General of this Commonwealth, it is hereby Ordered and Decreed that the trustees of the Albert P. Busch Charitable Trust shall hereafter be authorized to depart from rigid adherence to the age restriction currently imposed on qualified donees of the trust, and to substitute a preference for those of sixty (60) years or over, while permitting gifts to church members under sixty with a bona fide need for financial assistance, to the extent necessary to enable the trustees to distribute amounts more nearly approximating the net income of the trust. In re: the Albert P. Busch Charitable Trust U/W In the Court of Common Pleas of Cumberland County Pennsylvania Orphans' Court Division No. PETITION FOR CY PRES REFORMATION PURSUANT to 20 Pa.C.S.§ 6110 TO THE HONORABLE JUDGES OF THIS COURT: ~ NOW COME Forest N. Myers, Esquire, and the Board of ~rUStees ~f the ~ir~ Church of God of Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, Trustees of tl~ AlbeflXP. Busch Charitable Trust U/W, and state the following in support of their pet/'tiOn: ~ 1. Albert P. Busch ("Settlor") died on March 4, 1989, leaving~° a will dated May 27, 1987, which was admitted to probated in Cumberland County on March 7, 1989, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit "A." 2. By Item "SIXTH (F)" of his will, Settlor bequeathed sixteen-twentieths of the residue of his estate to the petitioners herein, in trust nevertheless, "to assist and aid needy persons of said Church and/or Sunday School, who have been such for a period of two (2) years or greater [and] who have demonstrated a bona fide need for financial assistance. Such persons shall be sixty (60) years of age or over." 3. In spite of the petitioners' best efforts to publicize the availability of the trust to church members and to identify qualifying donees, the most they have been able to distribute in a single year has been seventeen thousand ($17,000) dollars, which is less than the annual income earned by the fund; and, the average annual distribution amount is only fifteen thousand ($15,000) dollars. 4. In consequence, since it was established, the trust corpus has grown from an original balance of roughly one-quarter million ($250,000) dollars to a current balance in excess of one-half million ($500,000) dollars. 5. Petitioners believe that the primary purpose of the trust ["to assist and aid needy" members of the Church of God], will continue to be frustrated by the restriction that donees "shall be sixty (60) years of age or over." 6. Petitioners believe that, after assisting any identifiable "needy" church members over the age of sixty years, they would more nearly realize Settlor's intent by extending help to "needy" church members not yet sixty years of age "who have demonstrated a bona fide need for financial assistance," than by accumulating undistributable income within the trust. 7. Settlor gave the individual trustee the power to terminate the trust and pay over the funds thereof to such other charitable organizations of his choosing, in the event that he should determine "in his sole discretion, that the funds hereby granted are not being utilized in the manner intended." 8. Cy Pres reformation of the Trust, pursuant to 20 Pa.C.S.A. {}6110(a), to remove the age restriction, while retaining a preference for donees of sixty years or older, would permit the Trust to accomplish, as nearly as possible, the Settlor's ultimate charitable purpose: "to assist and aid needy persons of said Church and/or Sunday School, who have been such for a period of two (2) years or greater [and] who have demonstrated a bona fide need for financial assistance." 9. The Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has been apprised of the contents of this Petition and notified of its filing with this court. 2 WHEREFORE, Petitioners pray this Honorable Court for an Order authorizing the trustees of the Albert P. Busch Charitable Trust to depart from rigid adherence to the age restriction currently imposed on qualified donees of the trust, and substituting a preference for those of sixty (60) years or over, while permitting girls to church members under sixty with a bona fide need for financial assistance, to the extent necessary to enable the trustees to distribute amounts more nearly approximating the net income of the trust. Dated: Respectfully Submitted, SAIDIS, SHUFF, FLOWER & LINDSAY Thomas E. Flower S.Ct. ID # 83993 2109 Market Street Camp Hill, PA 17011 (717)737-3405 Attorney for Petitioner COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA OFFICE OF ATTORNEY GENERAL Gerald J. Pappert Attorncy~ General March 8, 2004 Charitable Trusts and Organizations Section 21 S. 12th Street, 3rd Floor Philadelphia, PA 19107-3603 Telephone: (215) 560-2402 Fax: (215) 560-2202 Thomas E. Flower, Esquire Saidis Shuff Flower & Lindsay 2109 Market Street Camp Hill, PA 17011 Re: The Albert P. Busch Charitable Trust Dear Mr. Flower: Thank you for your letter of February 26 regarding the reformation of the above trust to allow for gifts to persons under the age of 60 years. Inasmuch as trustees have the power to terminate the trust, have been unable to identify sufficient recipients of 60 years of age or older, and the age limitation will remain as a preference, this Office, as patens patriae, has no objection to the prayer of your Petition. LB:jak Very t/l:trt~'yours, /: ' , .;'\ ? ; L~rence Barth Deputy Attorney General In re: the Albert P. Busch Charitable Trust U/W In the Court of Common Pleas of Cumberland County Pennsylvania Orphans' Court Division No. VERIFICATION I, Paul Tatum, hereby verify that the statements made in the foregoing Petition are true and correct to the best of my information, knowledge and belief. I understand that false statements herein are made subject to the penalties of 18 Pa. C.S. Section 4904, relating to unsworn falsification to authorities. Date: /~ f ~ ~2) ,~ By: Pastor, First Church of God 4 In re: the Albert P. Busch Charitable Trust U/W In the Court of Common Pleas of Cumberland County Pennsylvania Orphans' Court Division No. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE ANDNOW, this /~) dayof ~t~ 2004, I, ThomasE. Flower, Esquire, of the firm of Saidis, Shuff, Flower and Lindsay, hereby certify that I this day served a true and correct copy of the within Petition upon the party listed below via United States Mail, postage prepaid, addressed as follows: Lawrence Barth Deputy Attorney General Charitable Trusts and Organizations Section 21 S. 12th Street, 3rd Floor Philadelphia, PA 19107-3603 Respectfully submitted, SAIDIS, SHUFF, FLOWER & LINDSAY Thomas E. Flower, Esquire Supreme Court ID #83993 2109 Market Street Camp Hill, PA 17011 (717) 737-3405 Attorney for Petitioner