Charities Win Court Case Over $1-Billion Estate

A judge in Sarita, Tex., Monday rejected a challenge to the estate of John G. Kenedy, a South Texas rancher, clearing the way for two charities to continue controlling the Kenedy ranch’s estimated $1-billion in assets, reports the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.

The decision comes after Ray Fernandez, a Corpus Christi resident, said that his mother was an illegitimate child of Mr. Kenedy and that he and his relatives therefore deserved a share of the estate. The judge said that the estate was settled in 1987 and no new challenges would be considered.

When Mr. Kenedy died in 1948, his wife and sister used their share of the 400,000-acre, oil-rich land holdings to create two organizations that support Roman Catholic charities. When the women died, the charities took control of the assets of the ranch.