November 15, 2007 | Read Time: 1 minute
Blogs that focus on Central America are buzzing about news of a high-profile court battle over a $50-million donation, reportedly the largest in Panama’s history.
According to Time magazine, Wilson (Chuck) Lucom, an American millionaire who died last year at age 88, left the money to benefit Panama’s needy children. He did not specify which nonprofit groups would be supported, reported the magazine.
But Time writes that Mr. Lucom’s wife and other members of her family, which is one of the wealthiest and most politically connected in the country, is disputing the contribution in court, arguing that the tax lawyer in charge of the will fabricated the charity bequest to split the millions of dollars between himself and other associates of Mr. Lucom. The lawyer has denied the accusation.
Two Panamanian courts have dismissed the wife’s claims, and now the nation’s Supreme Court is set to decide the case.
Among the blogs discussing the case is one written by a group of Panamanian lawyers.
They do not identify themselves, but they oppose Mrs. Lucom’s legal efforts. “If the gift by the American expatriate to the poor children of Panama is prevented, $50-million will go to one of Panama’s elite and most powerful families,” they wrote.
In the Time article, a member of the wife’s family, who is a board member of a children’s charity, promised that if they win the money, a portion of it would go to charitable causes. “We are a family with a social conscience,” the granddaughter of Mr. Lucom’s wife told the magazine.
What do you think? if the $50-million does go to charity, what children’s programs should it support? Click on the comments link below this post to share your thoughts.
