Charities Settle Dispute Over $264-Million Bequest

After a protracted dispute, the $264-million estate of a Washington man will be split among the eight charities mentioned in his will, though not exactly as he intended, reports The Seattle Times.

Hector Guy Di Stefano, widower of a woman whose father invested early in UPS, left his UPS stock to be split evenly among Greenpeace International, the Salvation Army, and six other groups. However, seven months before he died in the summer of 2005, Greenpeace became the Greenpeace Fund, and Mr. Di Stefano never changed the name of the beneficiary in his will.

The Salvation Army soon filed a lawsuit, saying that Greenpeace International should not be eligible to get the money and that the bequest should be split among the remaining seven groups.

However, after negotiations the Salvation Army said it would drop the lawsuit and let Greenpeace accept $27-million. That is $6-million less than Mr. Di Stefano intended. The Salvation Army declined to talk about the case.

Read The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s coverage of the disputed Di Stefano estate, as well as coverage of the gift, which made the donors the sixth most-generous donors of 2006, in the Chronicle‘s annual rankings.

(A paid subscription or short-term pass is required to view the Chronicle articles.)