are not respected by the courts what hope do the "little people" have??By STEPHANIE STROM
The judge overseeing the probate of the hotelier Leona Helmsley’s will has ruled that, contrary to her wishes, the billions of dollars that will flow into the charitable trust she created do not have to be spent solely for the care and welfare of dogs.
The judge, Troy K. Webber of Surrogate’s Court in Manhattan, said that the trustees who control the trust may distribute the money as they see fit. “The court finds that the trustees may apply trust funds for such charitable purposes and in such amounts as they may, in their sole discretion, determine,” Judge Webber wrote in a ruling dated last Thursday.
Experts in trusts and estates had warned that Mrs. Helmsley’s order that her fortune be spent promoting canine well-being may not have been legally binding. The two-page “mission statement” that contained her instructions also gave the trustees discretion in spending the money, and it was never incorporated into her will or the trust documents.
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