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Liz Chace and Malcolm Chace
prior to the litigation at a Wolf
School dedication. |
In the next few months, one of the biggest legal battles in Rhode Island history is expected to head to trial.
The players are in a high-stakes fight over the control of one of the
trusts of the late Rhode Island billionaire Malcolm “Kim” Chace, the
man whose family had direct involvement with the establishment of the
famed investment fund Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.
Just days before Chace died in 2011, two lawyers from a prominent
Rhode Island law firm traveled to Florida and executed a “second”
codicil to his will — an amendment — that made significant changes worth
tens of millions of dollars including impacting the control of millions
of dollars of art and increasing the annual payment to Kim Chace’s
second wife Liz from $400,000 to $800,000 a year.
Just one problem, at the time of the lawyers' visit, Kim Chace was
hospitalized, and according to family members and attorneys for his son
Malcolm Chace, Kim was “completely incapacitated" and non-communicative.
Who exactly were these lawyers representing is one of the lingering
questions now playing out in courtrooms in Florida and Rhode Island.
And, how did the non-communicative Kim Chace seek these substantial
changes to the distribution of his fortune? The "second" codicil
substantially benefitted Liz Chace.
This battle over the codicil is just one component of the legal dispute between members of the Chace family. GoLocal was first to report on the different factions and the litigation in April of 2022.
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| Buff Chace is locked in litigation with Malcolm Chace in RI |
Rhode Island Litigation Expected to Go to Trail This Year
On one side are Kim Chace’s children, their spouses, and
grandchildren. Leading the effort is Kim Chace's son Malcolm Chace, who
heads the investment firm Canton Hathaway in Providence. His business
partners include Jim Procaccianti, President and CEO of Procaccianti
Companies — “a firm that claims more than $10 Billion of diversified
real estate investments in more than 130 cities across 31 states coast
to coast.”
The Malcolm Chace faction has sued cousin Arnold “Buff” Chace and
William Saltonstall [Kim Chace’s stepson and Malcolm Chace’s
step-brother] individually as well the trust managing the money — M2K
Trust. Liz Chace is also named in the suit.
The plaintiffs in the mega suit in Providence Superior Court— Malcolm
Chace's group — allege that Buff Chace and Saltonstall violated the
tenet of the trust by investing funds into Buff Chace’s real estate
projects — they claim that this was specifically barred by the terms of
the trust. The Rhode Island litigation is expected to start in 2023.
Legal Battle Over "Second" Codicil in Court in Florida
The dispute over the change to the will pits Malcolm Chace’s faction
primarily against his stepmother Liz Chace. She married Kim Chace on
February 8 of 1975, according to a wedding announcement in the New York
Times.
Lawyers for Malcolm Chase’s group, both in Rhode Island and in
Florida, say the will was changed days after he was incapacitated after
surgery and was left non-communicative.
A first codicil of the will was executed in 1990, which provided for
Liz Chace to receive an annual payment of $400,000 from the trust upon
Kim Chace’s death, and provided for an art collection worth tens of
millions to remain with Liz Chace during her lifetime and then revert
back to Kim Chace’s children — the Malcom Chace group.
But the so-called second codicil changed key provisions. It doubled
her annual payments from $400,000 to $800,000 annually and changed the
provisions regarding the art collection — to Liz Chace's benefit.
“During my wife's lifetime if she survives me, the trustee shall pay
to my wife from the net income of such trust the sum of Eight Hundred
Thousand Dollars ($800,000) annually provided, however, that (i) to the
extent such income is insufficient to make such payment, the trustee
shall use principal for such purpose, and (ii) such amount shall be
prorated in the year of my death,” states the second codicil.
The changes made in the final days have raised concerns of Malcolm Chace's attorneys.
"It causes tremendous concern that a codicil appeared last minute
changing the wishes of Mr. Chace days before his death. There is strong
evidence Mr. Chace was completely incapacitated at the time of the
alleged codicil. It is impossible for a client to have testamentary
capacity to make important choices regarding their estate plan while
incapacitated,” said Florida-based Marianne Moran, Attorney for the
beneficiaries of the Malcolm G. Chace Declaration of Trust.
Robert Corrente, who is representing Malcolm Chace in the Rhode
Island litigation, told GoLocal in a phone interview, "There is
additional and related litigation in Florida…there is a relatedness to
the whole thing as the changes they made were significant as to what
they did and what they affected as it relates to dollars and cents. And
the change to the second codicil was executed every very close to [Kim
Chace’s] death. There were substantial questions about his medical
condition."
Corrente is the former U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island.
Painting Worth Millions
The paintings in question, according to the "second "codicil, are:
"Bow of a Beam Trawler" by Edward Hopper
"Glass of Water" by Eastman Johnson
"Fulton Fish Market'' by George Luks
"Landscape #1" by Charles Sheeler
"Cosmetic Counter" by Wayne Thiebaud
According to the parties, the paintings are worth millions, with the most valuable by Hopper.
That piece of art may be worth as much as $10 million. The record for a Hopper, according to the New York Times, is in excess of $91 million.
"He is America’s most celebrated painter of the solitary realities of
20th century life. But Tuesday night at Christie’s, Edward Hopper joined
the unreality of today’s art market when his 1929 painting 'Chop Suey'
sold for $91.9 million, with fees, an auction high for the artist."
Signed While Noncommunicative
The two lawyers who executed the second codicil were prominent
attorneys at Hinckley Allen & Snyder LLP — Robert Petix, Jr. and
Doris Licht.
Licht is a partner with the firm and refused to answer questions about her role in the execution of the second codicil.
She also refused to say who her client was.
“You know I am not going to be able to say anything,” said Licht in an interview with GoLocal.
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Doris Licht, Partner at Hinckley Allen
PHOTO: Firm |
Petix, who signed the second codicil on behalf of Kim Chace while he
was allegedly incapacitated. is no longer with Hinckley Allen and is no
longer a practicing attorney.
GoLocal reached Petix in his new home Austin, Texas, and he said he was unaware of the lawsuit and the disputes.
Petix, when reached by phone, said that he had to check with legal
counsel at his former firm Hinckley Allen before he could comment.
Petix and Licht’s roles are now the subject of legal action in
Florida. And according to court documents, Malcolm Chace’s Florida
attorney Moran will have the opportunity to depose both Licht and Petix.
A spokesperson for Liz Chace, Bill Fischer, told GoLocal in an email,
“The two Hinckley Allen attorneys you reference served as Kim’s estate
planning attorneys. The second codicil was made at Kim’s request. I
cannot speak to the motivation of this codicil nor do I represent
Hinckley Allen in this matter. All I can tell you is this codicil did
not originate as a request from Liz.”
When GoLocal informed Fischer that Malcolm Chace's family and
attorneys told GoLocal that at the time of the execution of the second
codicil, he was reportedly incapacitated and uncommunicative, thus how
did he request this change -- Fischer declined to comment.
Full Article & Source:
Billionaire Chace’s Will Was Changed in Final Days of His Life — He Was “Completely Incapacitated”
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