When the former Ledgemont Schools became part of Berkshire Schools, it created a dilemma for Chardon attorney Bill Hofstetter.Hofstetter had been appointed trustee of part…
When the former Ledgemont Schools became part of Berkshire Schools, it created a dilemma for Chardon attorney Bill Hofstetter.
Hofstetter had been appointed trustee of part of the estate of former Thompson Township resident Francis Spatz Leighton — the daughter of Joseph Orstein, a Jewish farmer who immigrated to America from Poland during World War II — who passed away in 2007 in Arlington, Va., at the age of 87.
In her will, she named Thompson and Ledgemont as equal beneficiaries of her estate, which involved cash and property in several states, including her family’s 124-acre farm on Phillips Road in Thompson.
She also owned property in Virginia, Texas and Washington, D.C., which she left to other beneficiaries.
As of June 9, there was approximately $300,578 remaining to be disbursed to Ledgemont.
The township’s interest, which trustees transferred to the Thompson Township Park Board, totaled $410,386, as of Dec. 31, 2015.
“Things were going along swimmingly,” Hofstetter told Geauga County Probate Court Judge Timothy Grendell June 9, until Ledgemont was absorbed into Berkshire last June.
“Since the Ledgemont Schools Board of Education has ceased to exist . . . there’s no entity that I can recognize to disburse funds from the former Ledgemont side of the ledger,” he said.
This year, Thompson Township Trustees and Berkshire Schools Board of Education each provided Hofstetter with a resolution requesting they succeed to the beneficial interest of Ledgemont.
“We have no favorites here. As trustee, my objective is to honor the terms of the decedent’s trust,” said Hofstetter. “Wearing my trustee’s hat, I would be happy to entertain hearing requests from either of those entities.”
So, Hofstetter filed a complaint in probate court requesting Grendell allow him to accept funding requests from either the township trustees or the Berkshire school board.
While Berkshire initially sought exclusive recognition as the successor beneficiary, Hofstetter told Grendell the district was now amenable to allowing township trustees the ability to access the Ledgemont trust funds as well.
Hofstetter also told Grendell the Ohio Attorney General’s Office would accept any decision the court makes, so long as Spatz Leighton’s charitable objectives were met.
Legally, however, Grendell said Berkshire is the successor to Ledgmont.
Hofstetter explained Spatz Leighton’s intent was to favor students who lived in Montville and Thompson townships, and not Berkshire, except to the extent those students were from those two communities.
Grendell noted Berkshire would have to spend the trust money at Ledgemont Elementary School or on students coming from the two townships.
Hofstetter said it was important to recognize the difference between the legal and equitable components of the trust.
“The authority to spend this money, for better or for worse, is vested in the trustee,” he argued.
“Then why are we here?” asked Grendell. “Why are you asking me to tell you what you should do in the exercise of your discretion as trustee? Why am I getting pulled into this?”
Grendell noted the trust’s charitable purposes had not changed, only the party responsible for implementing those purposes.
“The purpose is still the same. It is for literacy in Thompson. It’s to maintain certain libraries in former Ledgmont buildings. It’s for the Ledges park and certain structures and libraries that are supposed to be there,” said Grendell. “None of those purposes have changed, just who’s going to carry out those purposes has changed.”
He added, “It seems simple to me. Mrs. Leighton loved Thompson, loved education, loved literacy and wanted her money to be spent in the Thompson-Ledgemont area.”
The funds earmarked for the township park district are consistent with her intentions, Grendell noted.
As for the Ledgemont funds, Grendell said he had no problem with either Berkshire or Thompson making a request for disbursement, provided the request is consistent with Spatz Leighton’s intent.
“You’re the gatekeeper, Mr. Hofstetter,” the judge said. “Whether they request it from Berkshire or the Thompson trustees request it, the key thing is that it stays either in the Thompson-Ledgemont area or for students who come out of the Thompson-Ledgemont area.”
Grendell added he trusted both sides to follow Spatz Leighton’s wishes.
Hofstetter then brought up Spatz Leighton’s original objective to have the family’s ancestral home on Phillips Road be used as a nature retreat and writers/artist colony.
Unfortunately, there were no improvements or funding to support that kind of use, he said, and the property was sold.
“Here’s the ironic part. There is property in downtown Thompson . . . across from . . . the Thompson Township park that would arguably fulfill many, if not all, of the original objectives of the (Spatz Leighton’s) will,” he told Grendell.
That property — the Crandall property — includes 20 acres of vacant land as well as the buildings that once comprised the Crandall Ford dealership.
“It would seem to me, again, if it is consistent with her desires for nature, literacy, improving education, improving and encouraging reading, and you as the trustee find that to be so, it’s not mine to second guess you,” said Grendell. “If somebody comes to you with an idea that you believe meets the objectives of the document, it’s not mine to say yes or no. It’s your job to decide.
“It seems wonderful to me. I mean, if somehow the Leighton Community Literacy and Reading Room popped up in downtown Thompson that would be a wonderful thing, right, for seniors as well as juniors to come and sit and read, and maybe learn about the legacy of Thompson and the legacy of the Leightons, and her contributions to the literary world, that’s all wonderful stuff,” he continued. “I would encourage that. I would come and visit and use it, but it’s not my decision to say to do it or not. But if you made that decision, Mr. Hofstetter, I wouldn’t second guess you.”
