Overseers of Benson’s Trust Seek to Pay Debts
Since being appointed to temporarily oversee the trust of Saints and Pelicans owner Tom Benson, a former San Antonio mayor and an estate lawyer asked a Texas judge for permission to pay off $206,997 owed to the holding company that includes New Orleans’ NFL team.
Phil Hardberger and Art Bayer also filed a separate motion asking Bexar County Probate Court Judge Tom Rickhoff to pay $3,853 to an accounting firm the pair retained to help them prepare a list of assets and liabilities related to the trust created by Benson’s first wife, Shirley, for the benefit of daughter Renee Benson. That inventory is due to Judge Rickhoff on March 25th.
The $206,997 mentioned in the motions forms a portion of almost $9 million the trust owes to a company called Benson Football LLC. The only amount that was due on that debt was an interest payment. The annual interest due on the $9 million owed to Benson Football LLC is about $103,498.
See Ramon Antonio Vargas, Overseers of Texas Trust at Center of Benson Family Dispute Seek Permission to Pay Debts, The Advocate, March 21, 2015.