Missouri Attorney General
Jefferson City, Mo. – On Friday, Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster announced an agreement in a case involving the mismanaged James Adams trust, which will result in the University of Missouri-Columbia and Three Rivers College in Poplar Bluff receiving $1,548,485 to divide between them.
Koster said James Adams of Piedmont, Missouri, left more than 750 acres of farm land and a $700,000 maintenance trust fund in a trust following his death in 2012, with his two daughters and his brother serving as trustees. Adams’ daughters were free to use the farm during their lifetimes, but the farm and the trust funds were to be transferred to charity upon their deaths.
According to Koster, the trustees had a fiduciary duty to preserve the trust’s value for charity. However, infighting between the trustees degraded the farm’s value and drained the maintenance fund.
The trustees failed to harvest hundreds of acres of hay at the Adams Farm. They failed to use more than $100,000 in purchased farm equipment. They neglected to retain a bookkeeper to manage the farm’s finances. They also failed to file tax returns for the trust and commingled personal and trust funds. The trust’s largest expenses were for attorney’s fees resulting from court battles between the trustees.
On September 6, the trust assets were liquidated at an auction in Piedmont. Through negotiations, the Attorney General obtained an agreement for the proceeds to be distributed with 75%, or $1,544,485, being split between the University of Missouri-Columbia and Three Rivers College and the remaining 25% retained by the Adams’ daughters as compensation for relinquishing their rights. The recipient schools were chosen to receive the funds by the trustees and were approved by the Attorney General. The Three Rivers Endowment Trust will receive $772,242 for the Three Rivers Activity Center project located on Three Rivers College’s campus in Poplar Bluff. The University of Missouri will receive $772,243 for its College of Human Environmental Sciences at its Columbia, MO campus.
“James Adams generously intended that his farm—the legacy of his life’s work—would eventually serve a charitable purpose,” Koster said. “This agreement will benefit thousands of Missourians seeking educational enrichment at these institutions, fulfilling Mr. Adams’ wishes.”