by Dogpatch 34 Replies latest jw friends
Has there been any change in who owns the Kingdom Halls?
Last I knew it was the Watchtower who owned them all, but the pubs had to pay the rent and mortgage. Are any or all of the Halls in the names of local elders? Are they still charged interest on the loans?
Thanks for the update.
Randy
Net Soup!
Most KH's are owned by small local corporations with the elders as the stock owners and board members. All of the KHs with this arrangement have a bylaw that says that if the congregation is dissolved the WTS gains ownership of the KH.
Randy,
As best as I recall, the "ownership" of the halls changed from the BOE to the WTS around 1985 or '86. I remember my dad (P.O.) saying something to the effect that this was something new for him (30+ years in the Org.).
My dad seemed to think it was due to the BOE of Cong. in Texas going "apostate," and turning the Hall into a church.
LABD
The congregation in whose territory the KH sits have a non-profit corporation formed consisting of 3 elders from that congregation (usually the service committee, PO, SO, and Secretary). If any brothers are removed, DF'd or move from the congregation, replacement elders are named to the corporation. As long as the congregation exists, they are considered the owners of the property, as a non-profit corporation. If the corporation or congregation is dissolved, the building and land and other assets, revert to the parent non-profit corporation, the WTS.
I am currently getting the paperwork on a local KH in my area that is accessible under the open records law.
dogpatch,
I know that at least some halls as far as the nineties were owned by the corporations of the congregations themselves, as Elsewhere was saying. They typically did have to repay their mortgage payments back to the building fund, so their relationship to the Society is basically feudal. They congo's could technically schism from Brooklyn but they could never afford to do it. The Society is meanwhile protected from lawsuits, as they do not have (legally) any direct control over the congregations.
How many Non-Building Fund halls has anyone seen go up lately?
Randy,
This is exactly what I am working on for Greg Love right now - ownership of KH's and the chain of title. As was said already here, most KH's are owned by a corporation which is formed by the KH and whose Directors, et al come from the congregation itself. Some of the "double congs" which may have as many as five or six congregations attending, will have one particular congregation which owns the whole thing kit and kaboodle. I've yet to run across a KH which I've personally researched which is currently owned by the WT itself, but I know they exist, because I've brought them up in my data bases.
I'm sending you a pm with more info - please check for it and get back with me if you need more info.
growedup
Now, let me see if I got this straight....
1. The congregations donate their labor to build the hall!
2. They borrow the money from the Society which they actually contributed!
3. The Society charges them interest on the money!
4. When the loan is paid off, The Society owns the building?
And they're worried about the crooked TV Evangelists?
Outaservice
Outtaserve: there is also the next part
5: If said body of elders at congregation doesn't like getting screwed up the backside by the Society, Society removes said elders and replaces them with new ones who will continue to pay for the hall they can't afford.
Here is the link to the deed of the KH near me.
http://12.40.122.125/FCP2.WEB8/0/RDLIST?INSTRUMENTCODE=D&BOOK=489700999
One of the elder's listed has been dead for 5 years. Would this mean his next of kin (who is not a JW) is entitled to that share of the Hall?
Devon
Devon -
I couldn't get the link to work.
In answer to your question about next of kin, the KH's are owned by corporations - which don't direct rights of survivorship to family members - unless specified in the corporation filings. And in this case, I would be shocked if that is the case - most likely, the corporation itself has rights of survivorship. So, if say, a Director dies, whether someone else from the congregation is named in their place or not, the corporation would still own the KH.
I can't remember which state you are in, but you can check your Secretary of State's website for the corporate filing to find out who the most current Directors, et al are. The deeds themselves are not necessarily updated as to who controls the corporation - as long as the deed specifies just the name of the corporation. So, in order to know who they are, you would need to find the latest Corporate filing with the Sec of State. If they haven't updated the filing since the death of this elder, then the corporation (most likely) would still own the building, but with only two officers instead of three. If they all died at the same time in a trainwreck, the provisions as set forth in the Corporate Filings would determine ownership. And I would betcha that that is when the WT would then step in - at least until a new board of directors could be elected.
Hope that helps!
growedup
