Statement of the Trustees of The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust Regarding the Surrogate's Court Decision

NEW YORK, Feb. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- The trustees of The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust are pleased that the Surrogate's Court has upheld their position concerning the allocation of the Trust's resources.

The court's decision ruled on a Petition filed by the trustees requesting the court to determine the scope of their discretion in applying Trust funds for charitable purposes. The trustees filed their Petition after worldwide reports erroneously asserted that the Trust's funds could only be applied to dog-related charities. The trustees' Petition sought a determination by the court that they are permitted to apply the funds to a broad range of charitable purposes in their sole discretion. The court's decision has unequivocally granted the trustees' Petition, holding: "[T]he court finds that the trustees may apply trust funds for such charitable purposes and in such amounts as they may, in their sole discretion, determine."

In the hope that this would be the court's decision, the trustees have been diligently working to identify potential grantees so the Trust's funds would be put to optimal use as soon as possible in such areas as health care, medical research, human services, education, and various other areas.

As a result of those efforts and the court's decision, the trustees anticipate announcing initial grants next month.

- Howard J. Rubenstein on behalf of The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust