Resolution of Foundation Battle Will Split Money Between Tennessee and Mississippi

An out-of-court settlement has been reached in the dispute over what states should benefit from the Maddox Foundation, a $100-million foundation established by Dan and Margaret Maddox in Tennessee, reports The Tennessean, in Nashville.

The foundation, which was started in 1968, was moved to Mississippi in 1999, after the Maddoxes died in a boating accident.

That move prompted a legal challenge from the couple’s step-granddaughter, Tommye Maddox Working, who objected to the foundation’s money being spent in Mississippi because she said the Maddoxes would have wanted the money distributed in Tennessee, the newspaper reports.

The settlement calls for $55-million in liquid assets to go to the new Dan and Margaret Maddox Charitable Trust in Tennessee, to be run by an independent board.

The Maddox Foundation in Mississippi will keep $26-million in liquid assets and $20- to $30-million in real estate, reports The Commercial Appeal, in Memphis.