In Re Estate of Leonard

This is an appeal by the executors of the estate of Herbert H. Leonard from dismissal of their petition in Bennington County Court for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Mr. Leonard died early in 1972, leaving in his will a bequest of five thousand dollars to the Young Men’s Christian Association of Bennington, Vermont, expressing the hope that the funds would be applied toward a new building or other capital improvement. At the time of his death, the Bennington Y.M.C.A. was a nonfunctioning organization.

Mr. Leonard had previously played a central role in a drive to raise funds for a…