NEW YORK, March 27, 1928.
Re: Women's International League for Peace and Freedom; Re. Estate of Amanda F. Lauterbach, deceased.
Dear Madam:
You will be pleased to know that we have been successful in obtaining three checks in the above matter [totaling] $17,793.66 received yesterday. In accordance with the Power of Attorney which was executed by Mme. Hirschmann and filed by us the Executors, the checks have been made payable to Mme. Hirschmann or our order as attorneys. The three checks are as follows:
(1) Amount $5,207.50. The Will and Codicil gave a legacy of $5,000, to the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom which was not affected or changed by the Compromise Agreement. This check is in payment of this legacy and the extra $207.50 included therein, is the interest at 6% on the $5,000, for the period commencing one year after the issuance of temporary letters of administration to the date of payment.
(2) Check in the amount of $10,275. Under the Compromise Agreement, Mme. Hirschmann is entitled to 13 7/10% of the residuary estate of the decedent. The Compromise Agreement provides that when partial distribution is made, it shall be made ratably to all the parties to the Agreement and this amount is for Mme. Hirschmann's portion of the residuary estate which is now being distributed.
(3) Check in the amount of $2,311.16. This amount is derived from income on the residuary estate since the date of Mrs. Lauterbach's death, which was May 7, 1926.
We are also in receipt of a cable from Mme. Hirschmann which we quote as follows: "Pay Tibbetts" is the cable message we suggested Mme. Hirschmann send us upon receipt of our letter with regard to the item of $225 expenses of Mr. Tibbetts incurred by him last summer upon his investigation at Geneva. This item you approved. In our [page 2] letter to Mme. Hirschmann on this subject, we said that upon receipt from her of a cable message "Pay Tibbetts," we would understand it to mean that she approved paying $225 to Mr. Tibbetts. We will accordingly make payment of this amount to Mr. Tibbetts.
The portion of Mme. Hirschmann's cable "Further instructions follow," we assume refers to a letter from Mme. Hirschmann which is now on the way to us, of which we will advise you upon its receipt.
We shall also deduct from the amount received the sum of $139.93 for our disbursements incurred in this estate and also in the matter of incorporating the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Inc., a membership corporation under the Laws of the State of New York. In the latter matter, we have advanced in addition to other items, the cost of filing fees in Albany and in this County and the expenses incurred to obtain the minute book and seal. Of course, upon the rendering of a final bill to Mme. Hirschmann, we shall itemize our disbursements.
We feel that you would wish us to retain something at this time on account of our fees in this matter. You will recall that some of the local members of the League were advised by the attorneys for the Estate to engage the services of an attorney to represent them and we were brought in to represent the interests of the League at the request of Mrs. White and Mrs. Thomas. The Estate itself consists of approximately a half-million dollars and the Will, you will remember, made little, if any, provision for the decedent's daughters. The daughters thereupon filed objections to the probate and thereafter a Compromise and Settlement Agreement was entered into by all the parties. The whole situation has been very complicated and required much time to work it out. You will recall there were two other charities mentioned other than the League. But it so happened that these other two charities were incorporated and capable of taking under a Will. The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, however was and is an unincorporated association and a serious question arose as to whether they were entitled to take anything under the Will at all. There was, however, in the Will, the following paragraph:
"In case any bequest to any of the institutions mentioned in this Will shall lapse by reason of the fact that such institution is not incorporated, I give and bequeath the amount thereof to the corporation which may have the charge or control of such institution, if any there be, and in default thereof to the Treasurer and his successors in office of such institution, as trustees for the purposes of such institution."
With this paragraph in mind, our investigation disclosed that the League had no person designated as the Treasurer and it became necessary to establish to the satisfaction of the attorneys for the [page 3] estate that Mme. Hirschmann was in fact the person who performed the duties and functions of the office of Treasurer for the International Body. This entailed examination of voluminous papers and many conferences with the counsel for the Estate and with representatives of the League. You are aware of the papers which we have drawn and sent to Mme. Hirschmann has an [enforceable] right under a contract where her rights under the Will and Codicil before the Agreement was executed, were distinctly doubtful, if not altogether [unenforceable].
Our future work will make it necessary for us to appear and represent the interests of Mme. Hirschmann in the proceedings about to be instituted to settle the accounts of the temporary administrators and in the proceedings which will be brought eventually by the Executors to settle their accounts as such. We will also have to take part in the proceedings to determine the several death taxes upon the estate. All of these proceedings will require a careful examination of long and complicated accounts and any questions of law which may arise therein.
We are aware that the League is an organization for benevolent and charitable purposes and not organized for the pecuniary gain of any of its members and we have had this in mind in arriving at what we believe to be a moderate fee for our services, which fee is considerably less than we would charge a client engaged in business for pecuniary gain. We suggest therefore, that we deduct from the amount now on hand, the sum of $2,000 on account of our services in this matter and the matter of incorporating the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom in the State of New York. As to our further services, as far as we are able to tell, at this time, we believe an additional $1,000, will cover our fee and which may be deferred to a future time. We should like to be able to tell you exactly what the total fee would be, but it has been our experience that it is impossible to foretell with any degree of accuracy what work and time will be involved to properly represent the interest of a client in future proceedings.
We would appreciate a letter from you with any suggestions which you may care to make. If you approve of the payment to us of $2,000, at this time on account of our services, kindly write us to that effect so that we may enclose a copy of your letter when we report to Mme. Hirschmann on the collection of these funds.
We know that you, as President of the International League are interested in the developments as they occur in this Estate, and we believe that Mme. Hirschmann wishes us to keep you informed. You may have some suggestion to make to Mme. Hirschmann in regard to the disposition of these funds which we would be glad to enclose with our letter to her explaining the details.
Very truly yours,
Alexander & Keenan [signed]
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