Mediation ordered in Turnbull estate dispute

SANDPOINT — A mediation order was affirmed Wednesday in an escalating dispute over control of an estate that is to be held in trust to benefit public roads in Bonner County.

Lifelong Sagle resident Harpster Frederick Turnbull died in 2007 at the age of 93. His wife, Dolly, preceded him in death and the couple had no children. Turnbull’s final wishes were to establish a trust to benefit residents of Bonner County.

Turnbull directed his $5.6 million estate to be held in an interest-bearing trust. While the principal would permanently be held in the trust, the interest it spun off would be used to augment the county’s Road & Bridge budget in perpetuity.

Turnbull appointed mortuary owner and former county Coroner Dale Coffelt as his estate’s personal representative. Turnbull’s will designated certified public accountant and maternal nephew Jim Carothers as Coffelt’s successor and further stipulated that decisions involving the estate were to be made with Carothers’ input.

Things took a tangled, downward departure from there.

Carothers claims Coffelt mishandled the estate by not moving quickly enough to sell real estate and timber, which he contends is muting its intended benefits. Coffelt has defended his conservative management in light of adverse real estate and timber market conditions.

Elements of Carothers’ campaign have included appeals to the county commission to intervene and, now, litigation.

Carothers’ efforts to unseat Coffelt have not found much traction with the county commission, although commissioners have made independent inquiries into Carothers’ claims, county records show. Carothers’ efforts, however, have found purchase in magistrate court.

Citing the amount of money involved and public interests, Judge Barbara Buchanan agreed last fall to consider the question of the estate’s representative.

“Obviously, this is a serious matter involving a lot of people and we need a full hearing,” Buchanan said during an Oct. 20, 2010, hearing.

Buchanan scheduled a bench trial for Feb. 22, but ordered the parties to try and resolve the dispute through mediation. Carothers objected to the mediation order on grounds that it would be a fruitless and costly endeavor.

“It may not be a good use of time and money,” Carothers argued on Wednesday.

Prosecutor Louis Marshall, who is acting as Coffelt’s counsel, defended the order and expressed optimism that the dispute could be amicably resolved without a court trial.

“We will go into mediation with good faith,” said Marshall.

Buchanan declined to withdraw the mediation requirement and further ordered that the costs of negotiation be paid for with estate funds.

“I’m keeping my fingers crossed that you all can make progress in mediation,” Buchanan said.

Nearly every move made concerning the estate has drawn questions and complaints from Carothers and his supporters — checks to specific estate heirs were not cut quickly enough, Turnbull’s $4.7 million homesteaded ranch was not listed before the real estate market cratered, and taxes fell into delinquency.

Those delays and alleged mishandling have damaged the estate, according to Carothers.

“I do believe money has been lost,” Carothers said during the October hearing.

Coffelt countered that Turbull’s wishes were to selectively log the property and then sell the land. But the market for timber was weak at the time and real estate market subsequently crashed.

Coffelt testified that both Marshall and the county commission have been looped into decisions concerning the estate.

“They have been fully informed of any decisions that have been made,” Coffelt testified last fall.

Carothers was kept out of the decision loop at one point on the advice of Marshall. Correspondence between the commission and Marshall indicates Carothers was being investigated for allegedly defrauding the Idaho Department of Fish & Game’s angler incentive program, which pays a bounty to fishermen who harvest Lake Pend Oreille rainbow and lake trout so kokanee can rebound.

The prosecutor’s office ultimately declined to pursue charges against Carothers, Marshall said in a February 2009 letter updating county commissioners on the dispute.

Property taxes were in arrears because Carothers insisted on preparing them. Tax notices were being sent to Carothers, not Coffelt, according to Marshall.

The bulk of the estate is in limbo while the dispute is ongoing. So far, more than $300,000 has been placed in trust with the Idaho Community Foundation. Proceeds from the unsold property and timber sales will ultimately be held in trust.

The county has yet to receive any benefits from the estate.

“At this point, we’ve have not received any dollars from the estate,” county Clerk Marie Scott said on Wednesday.