mayhew
07-31-2006, 11:39 PM
BEDFORD - The Bedford Humane Society will get a deceased Forest man's estate valued at more than half a million dollars, a judge ruled Monday.
The ruling ends a legal battle that began after Vernon Lybolt Jr. died in July 2004 at age 57. His will left his entire estate to "the Bedford County ASPCA, Animal Shelter," but no organization with that exact name exists.
The Humane Society, the Bedford County Animal Shelter, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and about a dozen of Lybolt's relatives all argued they had exclusive rights to the estate, valued at about $600,000.
The Humane Society now must use the money to build or buy an animal shelter, Bedford Circuit Judge James Updike ruled. The society does not have a shelter but has an account set aside for creating one.
"We are ecstatic," Humane Society president Mary Beverley said after Monday's ruling in Bedford County Circuit Court. "It's a dream. It's new ground we've never been on before."
Deciding where Lybolt's money would go hinged on figuring out what his intentions were when he wrote his will.
Court records and testimony painted a picture of Lybolt as a man who loved his mother, Teresa, and his two dogs above all else.
His relationships with other relatives apparently soured after his father's death. Witnesses testified he was not close to them when he died.
Lybolt, a New York native, worked at Lowe's on Timberlake Road for many years. He never married or had children.
He was a National Rifle Association member who never missed a gun show if he could help it. He was generally frugal, except for one indulgence: a 2001 Chevrolet Corvette.
Lybolt's relatives claimed they should get the money because his will named a nonexistent group. Updike rejected the argument, saying Lybolt clearly meant his estate to go to an organization caring for animals.
Updike rejected the ASPCA's claim, saying the words "Bedford County" showed Lybolt meant a local group. The New York-based ASPCA has no Bedford County site.
Updike said the Humane Society's methods more closely fit Lybolt's beliefs about animals than the county shelter's because the Humane Society is not required to euthanize animals.
"What he wanted was his money going to sheltering animals until a home could be found," Updike said.
Before Monday's ruling, the Humane Society's future shelter account stood at $15,000, Beverley said. When the shelter is built, it will be named after Lybolt.:appl:
The ruling ends a legal battle that began after Vernon Lybolt Jr. died in July 2004 at age 57. His will left his entire estate to "the Bedford County ASPCA, Animal Shelter," but no organization with that exact name exists.
The Humane Society, the Bedford County Animal Shelter, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and about a dozen of Lybolt's relatives all argued they had exclusive rights to the estate, valued at about $600,000.
The Humane Society now must use the money to build or buy an animal shelter, Bedford Circuit Judge James Updike ruled. The society does not have a shelter but has an account set aside for creating one.
"We are ecstatic," Humane Society president Mary Beverley said after Monday's ruling in Bedford County Circuit Court. "It's a dream. It's new ground we've never been on before."
Deciding where Lybolt's money would go hinged on figuring out what his intentions were when he wrote his will.
Court records and testimony painted a picture of Lybolt as a man who loved his mother, Teresa, and his two dogs above all else.
His relationships with other relatives apparently soured after his father's death. Witnesses testified he was not close to them when he died.
Lybolt, a New York native, worked at Lowe's on Timberlake Road for many years. He never married or had children.
He was a National Rifle Association member who never missed a gun show if he could help it. He was generally frugal, except for one indulgence: a 2001 Chevrolet Corvette.
Lybolt's relatives claimed they should get the money because his will named a nonexistent group. Updike rejected the argument, saying Lybolt clearly meant his estate to go to an organization caring for animals.
Updike rejected the ASPCA's claim, saying the words "Bedford County" showed Lybolt meant a local group. The New York-based ASPCA has no Bedford County site.
Updike said the Humane Society's methods more closely fit Lybolt's beliefs about animals than the county shelter's because the Humane Society is not required to euthanize animals.
"What he wanted was his money going to sheltering animals until a home could be found," Updike said.
Before Monday's ruling, the Humane Society's future shelter account stood at $15,000, Beverley said. When the shelter is built, it will be named after Lybolt.:appl: