Bequests and Contribution Limitations

In 2007, Raymond Burrington died and made a $217,734 bequest to the Libertarian Party. The Libertarian Party has not seen any of the money because the Federal Election Commission (FEC) has refused to give the party access to the bequest. Therefore, the Libertarian Party has brought a lawsuit against the FEC for refusing them access to the bequest. At issue here is whether the bequest should be interpreted to be a contribution, thus, subject to the federal contribution limitations. In this case, the issue becomes whether the Libertarian Party can receive the entire bequest in one year, or must the estate give $30,000 every year until the money is donated. The $30,000 mark is the contribution limit for how much living donors can give to a national party in a year.

Now  an additional has surfaced amidst this conflict. The parties in this lawsuit are currently arguing over who should hear the case. The Libertarian Party argues that because the bequest will be used to support nominees for federal office, an United States Court of Appeals must hear the case en banc. However, this only occurs if the legal challenge is “substantial.” The FEC argues that the issue here is not substantial because the person making the bequest does not have a constitutional right to bequest a gift to a political party. The Libertarian Party is stating that the issue is substantial because it involves their rights to receive the decedent’s money.

See Update on Libertarian Party Lawsuit Over Bequest as Applied to Contribution Limits to Political Parties, Ballot Access News, Sept. 16, 2012.

Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.