In the months before a beloved Victoria pediatrician died, she chose two charities that were near and dear to her passions — dance and the outdoors — and included them in her will.
But six years later, one of the charities — the Land Conservancy of B.C. (TLC) — is mired in financial trouble and legal battles that could jeopardize the sizable donation Dr. Chrystal Kleiman made to the charity.
Only $134,000 of the $707,000 she had bequeathed to the Victoria-based TLC has made its way to the Galiano Conservancy Association’s $4 million Galiano Learning Centre. Kleiman in her will had asked that her children work with TLC to identify a property that had a unique ecosystem, a stand of old-growth Douglas fir, water access and was child friendly.
They decided on the learning centre in 2010, two years after Kleiman died, aged 68.
TLC took $106,050 from Kleiman’s bequeathment as an “administrative” fee, then in Dec. 2010 wrote a promissory note to the Galiano project for $600,000. Since that time, TLC has only paid the Galiano project $134,000.
TLC chair Briony Penn said in an email to The Province that there was a “misunderstanding” about the Kleiman bequest but the promissory note fulfils the bequest.
“The wishes of the family have indeed been honoured,” she said.
It’s so sad, for my mom, and for the others who are being affected
But Kleiman’s children, Anya Adams, a Los Angeles television assistant director, and Jake Adams, an editor at The Province, say they aren’t happy that a large portion of the money their mother gave to the charity is unaccounted for.
“She had a very specific wish,” said Anya Adams. “It’s so sad, for my mom, and for the others who are being affected (by TLC’s financial troubles). In 2006, TLC was doing great things and she really felt the TLC would have the biggest impact for the amount of money she was leaving.”
Kleiman interviewed the director of the TLC and researched the organization and felt confident her bequest would be used to make sure others benefitted from nature. She also left a large sum to Dance Victoria.
In 2009, TLC first acknowledged financial difficulties that would eventually drive it into creditor protection. Since then, TLC’s founder Bill Turner has left, dozens of staff have been laid off and properties may be sold to pay creditors.
Anya Adams said that after her mom died, she and her brother started having misgivings about TLC’s management when they were looking for the property to support because of staff turnover and spotty communication with staff. However, a lawyer they consulted said the terms of the will to donate to TLC needed to be respected.
“Legally we had to (go through with the donation) because of the will,” she said. “Legally, we had no recourse.”
Legally, we had no recourse
The Adams’ discovered in early 2013 that the Galiano Conservancy Association had only received a small portion of Kleiman’s money, and learned of the promissory note. When they spoke to the TLC’s board they were told it couldn’t account for the remainder of the money, only that it had been spent. The Galiano Conservancy Association wasn’t available for comment, though in correspondence with the family has said TLC had been making monthly payments on the note until October 2013, and that they were still owed $465,000.
TLC is currently undergoing restructuring under CCAA rules in an attempt to avoid bankruptcy.
The court-appointed monitor of TLC’s creditor protection proceedings was closed for the holidays and unavailable for comment.
Penn said TLC will present its “plan of arrangement” to the creditors, before it is sent to the courts for approval.
She said the plan protects properties that have conservation covenants or heritage designation, including the Binning House in West Vancouver, a designated municipal heritage site as one of the finest examples of West Coast modern architecture, according to court documents.
The judge deciding on its fate of the Binning House said the goal of TLC to “secure at-risk environmentally sensitive properties” is a laudable one but said “to put it bluntly, TLC does not have the financial resources to maintain” the properties it owns.
TLC, which was formed in 1996, sought creditor protection in 2013, when it owed $7.5 million to its secured and unsecured creditors, including the Galiano Conservancy Association. Its 250 properties are worth $43.7 million.
Kleiman’s children aren’t considering a lawsuit because they don’t think that will help the Galiano project, nor TLC. The family also recognizes the current board is left with a monumental task of cleaning up mistakes made by their now-departed predecessors. However, they still want to know how their mother’s money was spent.
TLC is one of more than 30 legally registered conservation land trusts across B.C. and one of the four majors along with Ducks Unlimited Canada, The Nature Conservancy of Canada and The Nature Trust of B.C.
Its model is different than others, however, which usually deed acquired land to an agency of the Crown or place a legal covenant on acquired property so its future use is restricted, and its market value impaired.
Instead, TLC maintained ownership of many properties and had complicated mortgage arrangements on others.
Source:: National Post
