Fight over estate could dissolve Salinas Charitable Trust

By María Eugenia Guerra

If the relatives of Fernando (Chito) Salinas , 81, prevail in Judge Ben Morales' court to contest Salinas ' mental capacity and the power of attorney (POA) Salinas appointed, the Fernando A. Salinas Charitable Trust formed in 2005 could be dissolved and its substance split among those challenging the octogenarian's wishes. An initial hearing is set for Tuesday, August 23.

Salinas , a haberdasher and a 50-year mainstay of the downtown business community, appointed his longtime companion Javier Santos as medical POA in 2004 and universal POA in 2005. Documents for the charitable trust were drawn up by attorney Carlos Zaffirini

The trust incorporates Salinas ' mineral royalty income, Zapata County ranch land, bank accounts, investments, commercial real estate, and three homes, two of which are of historical significance.

Documents filed July 21, 2005 by attorney Donato Ramos, which refer to Salinas as “totally incapacitated” and the “Proposed Ward,” ask that Salinas' first cousin María Carmela L. Martinez and Bland Chamberlain be named Co-Temporary Guardians of Fernando Salinas, and that Martinez's son Carlos Martinez de Lachica and CPA Mario Gonzalez be named Proposed Co-Temporary Guardians of Salinas' estate.

That document cites an immediate need for Guardians of the Person and the Estate because of the “imminent danger that Proposed Ward's physical well-being may be impaired and that the Proposed Ward's estate be wasted.” The document also says there is a “question as to whether a purported power of attorney in the possession of Javier Santos is valid.”

Though Salinas has been tested extensively for dementia relative to a person of his age, there are no findings, according to Santos , of diminished mental capacity.

The court has appointed Javier Montemayor, Jr., attorney ad litem for Salinas .

Zaffirini, in a July 29, 2005 response to Ramos' motion, contests the application of María L. Carmela Martinez for “the appointment of a temporary guardian for the person and estate of Mr. Salinas, falsely alleging that he is an incapacitated adult.”

Zaffirini writes that the proposed guardians – Martinez , Chamberlain, Martinez de Lachica, and Gonzalez are disqualified because each has “an adverse interest to Mr. Salinas and each has been disqualified by written declaration signed by Mr. Salinas.”

The response goes into detail about each of the four individuals who seek to administer Salinas ' health and financial matters. According to the response, Martinez has not been a constant in Salinas ' life and has never been involved in arranging medical or nursing care for him when he has been ill. The response alleges that José A. Barrera and Eduardo Barrera have defrauded Salinas in a restructuring of his Zapata County ranch holdings, El Ebanito Minerals, Ltd. and El Ebanito Land Co., Ltd.

Chamberlain, the response continues, is not related to Salinas by blood or marriage. He previously held POA that was “expressly revoked” by Salinas .  The response alleges that Chamberlain has aided and abetted the Barrera brothers in structuring El Ebanito's ownership and mineral production in a manner that reduced Salinas ' 50 percent ownership to 33 1/3 percent.

According to the response, Salinas has a claim against CPA Gonzalez for negligence and malpractice for sharing private and confidential information about Salinas'finances with Martinez. “It would be impossible for Mr. Gonzalez to uphold his fiduciary duty to both Mr. Salinas and to the Barreras that are adverse to Mr. Salinas in the El Ebanito partnership,” the response reads.

As to de Martinez deLachica, Zaffirini's response notes that “Mr. Salinas has a very substantial claim against Mr. de Lachica for theft and conversion” of furniture and fixtures of historical value from a residence Salinas owns at the corner of San Bernardo Avenue and Farragut Street.

  That's the story in legalese.

The larger story, which unfortunately for Salinas plays itself out like a telenovela , includes clandestine interviews of his housekeeper of 25 years by those who wish to declare Salinas a ward; calls and letters to the Department of Human Services alleging poor care of Salinas by Santos; a hospital bedside visit by Chamberlain and the Barrera brothers asking Salinas, who was ill and hospitalized for pneumonia, to revoke the POA for Santos and to sign documents not witnessed by a notary – a visit that culminated with a call to hospital security.

I had supper with Fernando Salinas recently and was amazed at how well he looks and how well he spoke on a number of subjects, not the least of which was the pending motion to declare him a ward of the state. The decades appear to have been good to him. His skin had the flush of well being, and his dentition appeared to be excellent. He talked excitedly about the chapel he wants his foundation to build at St. Peter's Church, a church that has much meaning for him. He reminisced about being a merchant downtown, how close he and his sister Tiche were, and the meals they'd shared at Golding's with Tiche's husband Roberto Benavides.

Santos said the thought of Salinas being declared incompetent would be devastating to Salinas. “He is very much his own person making his own decisions. He has such great plans for what the Fernando Salinas Charitable Trust can do for Laredo and how its good works will honor his parents and his sister,” he said.