A recent dispute over a Washington will highlights the necessity for clients to frequently review their estate plans, especially when those plans include wills or trusts that bequeath significant assets to charitable organizations. The Washington case involved a decedent who left $264 million in his will to eight charities, including the Salvation Army and Greenpeace. The decedent left the Greenpeace bequest to “Greenpeace International”; however, that group was dissolved and absorbed into the related “Greenpeace Fund” during the year before the decedent’s death.  The Salvation Army disputed the executor’s plan to distribute the Greenpeace share to the Greenpeace Fund, arguing that the organization named by the decedent in his will was defunct and that its successor was not eligible to receive the gift. The dispute was finally resolved in a recent settlement agreement, with the Greenpeace Fund agreeing to take $27 million from the estate — $6 million less than it was allotted under the terms of the will.

This feud over the will’s language demonstrates the necessity of frequently reviewing estate planning documents to ensure that the charities named in them continue to qualify for 501(c)(3) tax exempt status, and that those charities continue to have the same names.  The dispute also underscores the need for charities contemplating or executing a name change or transfer of assets to publicize the change and to inform both current and potential donors.