Synod is not successor to closed church
The Nebraska Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church is not the “charitable successor or assign” of the Pella Lutheran Church of Omaha, the Supreme Court of Nebraska has affirmed. It is not entitled to receive Pella’s share of an estate left to Pella and its charitable successors and assigns. The issue arose when Margaret L. Matthews died in 2018, leaving the residue of the estate in her revocable trust one-half to the Salvation Army division in Omaha, one-fourth to the Visiting Nurse Association in Omaha, and one-fourth to the Pella church in Omaha, in each case to the named organization, “its charitable successors and assigns.” If one of the organizations did not exist or have a...
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