WHEELING — A West Virginia man is seeking a court’s determination of how to legally disburse funds bequeathed to a Meals on Wheels charity that no longer exists.
William G. Petroplus, executor of the estate of Laverne K. Vaas Bebout, filed a lawsuit Oct. 13 in Wheeling Circuit Court against defendants Easter Seal Rehabilitation Center Inc., The Children’s Home of Wheeling Foundation Inc., St. James Evangelical Lutheran Church, Laughlin Community Center Inc. (doing business as Laughlin Memorial Chapel), Meals on Wheels of Wheeling, W.Va., Meals on Wheels of West Virginia Inc., Meals on Wheels Inc., The Lutheran Service Society of Western Pennsylvania and Trinity Lutheran Church.
Approximately 10 years before she died, Vaas Bebout wrote a will leaving 20 percent of her estate to five of the defendants, the suit says. However, one of the heirs, Meals on Wheels, which formerly operated under the Lutheran Service Society, ceased operations in 2013. The lawsuit seeks to determine how to disburse that share of the estate.
Petroplus seeks a declaratory judgment to determine proper disbursement of the inheritance.
Judge Jason A. Cuomo is assigned to the case.
Ohio Circuit Court case number 16-C-317