PBHA Awaits $1.3M Bequest

The Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA) is ready to receive a "curious" gift.

With 27 months of legal arguments winding down, PBHA officials said they may soon get their hands on a $1.3 million windfall from the estate of Margret E. Rey, the co-creator of the mischievous storybook monkey, Curious George.

Rey, who died at age 90 in November 1996, stipulated in her will that PBHA was to receive 20 percent of her estate, which is now estimated at almost $10 million, with the remaining 80 percent to be divided among 15 other charitable organizations.

"Obviously it's a wonderful gift to the Phillips Brooks House," said PBHA Executive Director Paul MacDonald. "She loved the work being done here. Her support and heart were always with our summer camps."

Confusion over Rey's final wishes has delayed the distribution of her estate.

According to long-time friend Lay Lee Ong, Rey communicated verbal wishes to Ong that conflicted with the provisions of her will, reducing the amount that the 16 named beneficiaries, including PBHA, would receive.

Ong, co-executor of Rey's estate, said Rey instructed her to distribute $2.9 million that the two shared in a joint account to six additional charities. Proposed beneficiaries include the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Boston, medical research and, ironically, Helping Hands, a program designed to train monkeys for help in the homes of invalids.

Seeking to fulfill Rey's final wishes but realizing the lack of written evidence regarding the oral bequests, Ong said she proposed a compromise, whereby 85 percent of the joint account would fund the six additional charities Rey named.

The remaining 15 percent and all accrued interest--at this point, almost $1 million--would flow back into the estate to be dispersed to the charities listed in the will.

WGBH and other beneficiaries challenged Ong's credibility, stalling the process, according to Nancy Sterling, spokesperson for Ong's lawyer, Richard Mintz.

Even PBHA was skeptical at first, according to officials. "The legal case against Ms. Ong was very strong," Mac-Donald said. "It's difficult to convince everybody that somebody said something at the end of her life."

But ultimately PBHA decided that Ong's proposal was credible.

"Lay Lee Ong is an honorable, decent and respectable member of the community who believes she was acting in Margret Rey's best interests," Mac-Donald said.

At a meeting held last night, the executive board of PBHA voted unanimously to recommend that the PBHA board of trustees assent to Ong's proposed amendments.

The board of trustees, responsible for the ultimate decision, will vote next Wednesday.

A vote of assent would knock down a major hurdle preventing PBHA from receiving the grant, but all 16 charities must also do likewise before any funds are distributed.

With the acquiescence of WGBH, reported yesterday in the Boston Globe, the passage of the amendments appears to be assured.

But both MacDonald and Sterling called yesterday's Globe article "premature" because it stated that a settlement between the 16 beneficiaries would be reached as early as yesterday. Both MacDonald and Sterling are currently anticipating a longer timetable because many of the organizations, like PBHA, must get a vote of assent from their governing bodies.

Alex Beam, author of the Globe article, said he believed a settlement would be reached yesterday, but now acknowledges that further steps are required.

"It is in fact true that the minor beneficiaries have to go back to their boards and run the settlement by their boards," Beam said.

The process has been "very draining," Ong said. "If Margret had known about it she would have said forget it."

Rey did not stipulate how PBHA was to use the funds. While the organization has had financial trouble in the past, MacDonald said Rey's bequest would probably be used to fund PBHA's summer camps, in accordance with Rey's interests.

"[Rey] funded a lot of summer programs. She always liked the idea of students doing work in community on a volunteer basis," Ong said

WGBH and other beneficiaries challenged Ong's credibility, stalling the process, according to Nancy Sterling, spokesperson for Ong's lawyer, Richard Mintz.

Even PBHA was skeptical at first, according to officials. "The legal case against Ms. Ong was very strong," Mac-Donald said. "It's difficult to convince everybody that somebody said something at the end of her life."

But ultimately PBHA decided that Ong's proposal was credible.

"Lay Lee Ong is an honorable, decent and respectable member of the community who believes she was acting in Margret Rey's best interests," Mac-Donald said.

At a meeting held last night, the executive board of PBHA voted unanimously to recommend that the PBHA board of trustees assent to Ong's proposed amendments.

The board of trustees, responsible for the ultimate decision, will vote next Wednesday.

A vote of assent would knock down a major hurdle preventing PBHA from receiving the grant, but all 16 charities must also do likewise before any funds are distributed.

With the acquiescence of WGBH, reported yesterday in the Boston Globe, the passage of the amendments appears to be assured.

But both MacDonald and Sterling called yesterday's Globe article "premature" because it stated that a settlement between the 16 beneficiaries would be reached as early as yesterday. Both MacDonald and Sterling are currently anticipating a longer timetable because many of the organizations, like PBHA, must get a vote of assent from their governing bodies.

Alex Beam, author of the Globe article, said he believed a settlement would be reached yesterday, but now acknowledges that further steps are required.

"It is in fact true that the minor beneficiaries have to go back to their boards and run the settlement by their boards," Beam said.

The process has been "very draining," Ong said. "If Margret had known about it she would have said forget it."

Rey did not stipulate how PBHA was to use the funds. While the organization has had financial trouble in the past, MacDonald said Rey's bequest would probably be used to fund PBHA's summer camps, in accordance with Rey's interests.

"[Rey] funded a lot of summer programs. She always liked the idea of students doing work in community on a volunteer basis," Ong said