By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-24 13:25:08 | Updated at 2024-11-29 18:50:39
5 days ago
A 101-year-old widow is in a legal fight with the Rotary Foundation Canada over which charities can benefit from her late husband's $28.5-million estate.
Mary McEachern says the foundation has blocked her efforts to honor her spouse's deathbed request to share his fortune with various causes, not the Rotary alone.
Mary accused charity bosses of being 'greedy' — but the group says it has financial responsibilities and is bound by her husband Steve McEachern's official will.
'If Steve could see what's happening now, he would be devastated,' Mary, of Edmonton, Alberta, told DailyMail.com.
'He trusted that his wishes would be honored, and he would never want this kind of fight.'
Steve amassed his fortune, some CAD$40 million, during his 65-year investment career. The lifelong philanthropist served with several community groups and charities, including Rotary.
In his will from 2019, he named The Rotary Foundation Canada as the sole beneficiary of the estate, minus money for Mary's living costs. The couple had no children.
The foundation is a corporation and registered charity in Canada involved in aid work globally, typically disaster relief, and clean water and vaccine programs in poor countries.
Mary McEachern, 101, is in a legal battle with Rotary foundation officials over her husband's legacy.
Mary and Steve McEachern were married for 75 years, until Steve died in 2020 during the pandemic.
Steve died aged 98 in September 2020 — but not before he had a change of heart about leaving everything to the Rotary.
That was during COVID-19, and Steve wanted to help Canada's charities he'd seen struggling amid the pandemic, says Mary, his wife of 75 years, in an affidavit.
'One afternoon, before he passed, he looked at me and said, 'I don't want to give any more money to Rotary. I've given them enough, and there are so many people in our own part of the world who need help',' Mary said.
'That was Steve. He believed in giving where it mattered most.'
But Steve's health was faltering, and he died before he could rewrite his will, the widow says.
Mary and her family have set up a website to pressure Rotary to allow her to donate Steve's assets to a total of 17 charities.
They include Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service, the Edmonton Humane Society, the Mustard Seed, the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute, and the University of Alberta.
'All I've ever wanted is to make sure his legacy is carried out the way he wanted — by helping the people and animals he cared so deeply about,' said Mary.
Rotary was offered $14 million and then $9 million at different times as settlements, but its officials did not reply, the family says.
Four years after Steve's death, his estate remains untouched, caught up in legal red tape.
Mary is a co-executor of the estate, but she requires a court order to alter the beneficiaries.
Rotary is 'deliberately' drawing out the legal process 'hoping Mary will pass before her case is heard,' says the website.
This month, the family launched a publicity campaign to pressure Rotary as the legal process drags on.
Steve and Mary did not have any children, but Mary's wider family is helping her in the legal dispute.
Mary worked as a nurse during her marriage to Steve, but also helped him with the paperwork for his business.
The Rotary Foundation Canada is involved in aid work globally, typically disaster relief, and clean water and vaccine programs in poor countries.
Mary says the Rotary club is delaying her court requests in the hopes that she will die and they can claim the entire $28.5-million estate.
Mary says that she just wants her late husband's dying wish to be 'honored' by the charity
'This is money Steve and I worked and saved for together over our entire lives,' says Mary, who worked as a nurse throughout the marriage, but also helped build the business.
'It's not just about money — it's about doing the right thing. Steve wanted this money to go to charities close to home, where it could make a real difference for people and animals in need.'
Rotary officials say they only became aware of Steve's bequest in 2022 after court proceedings began.
The group says it wants to settle the Court of King's Bench dispute, but that they are obligated to honor Steve's will, and have to resolve some financial issues before they can reach a deal.
Dean Rohrs, a previous president of the charity, said officials were 'open to negotiation,' but that the case was 'murky, muddy and complex' due to taxes and other elements of the estate.
Steve's 'will was written only nine and a half months prior to his passing,' Rohrs told DailyMail.com.
'We, as the Rotary Foundation Canada, have a fiduciary duty to the 27,000 Canadian Rotarians who would have access to the funds from his donation. We need to make sure that this is what his intent is.'
Rohrs also complained about the family's media campaign, which has sparked a backlash, and left members dealing with a barrage of angry emails.
Still, Trish Young, Mary's niece, said Rotary officials only have themselves to blame.
They've undermined the charitable efforts of their many 'good, hard-working members' in Canada and beyond, she says, driven by 'pure greed' and the 'pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.'
