Dogfight: Trouble's Trust

The fight over who can control Michael Jackson’s estate has an analog in the animal world.

Remember Trouble, the perky Maltese who made headlines as a beneficiary of Leona Helmsley’s multi-billion dollar estate when she died in 2007? Animal rights groups are demanding that other pets should share in Helmsley’s wealth.

The Humane Society of the United States, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruety to Animals and Maddie’s Fund have told a New York court that the trustees of Helmsley’s estate are not distributing enough money to dogs. They complain that so far, only $100,000 has been directed to the ASPCA, and another $900,000 to training of guide dogs for the blind – spending that might seem generous to some, but seems like “utter disdain for the cause of animal welfare” to the Humane Society’s chairman.

The trust, meanwhile, says Helmsley wanted to share the wealth with humans, not just pets.

Can the animal rights groups prevail? Not likely for two reasons: Mrs. Helmsley gave the trustees discretion over how they distribute her estate … and it’s unlikely a court will allow outsiders to influence that spending.

But a law professor raised an interesting point in a 2008 article -- should Helmsley’s enormous trust reap tax-free status if its only beneficiaries were pets? And if so, should the state have more of a say in how that money is spent?