Dean Cain Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 (edited) There's big difference if the team is owned by at "Trust" or by an "Invididual" If the ownership has moved into a "Trust" then technically the entity of the Trust owns the Bills and the "Trustee" or "Trustees" must manage the asset according to how the Trust was written. For example, Ralph could have written specific instructions in his trust such as " The team may not be sold for x years" or " The team must be sold to the highest bidder" etc. It is then up to the "Trustee" to manage the asset according to the rules of the Trust. In essence, the Trustee doesn't have much power .. they basically have to follow the instructions of the Trust. If the ownership has moved to an "Individual" this is a completely different situation. If Mary Wilson is the sole owner as an indvidual she can do as she damn well pleases. Mary Wilson obviously is entitled to percentage of the franchise via the trust. Assuming Ralph's 2 surviving daughters and Mary Wilson are to split the estate in 1/3s and given the owner's equity rule for the Rooney family in Pittsburgh it's conceivable Mary Wilson could be a minority owner of the franchise, while the other 2/3 of the team is sold. Mary Wilson's equity ownership of the franchise would also be subject to zero estate taxes. Edited April 3, 2014 by Dean Cain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bocephuz Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 There's big difference if the team is owned by at "Trust" or by an "Invididual" If the ownership has moved into a "Trust" then technically the entity of the Trust owns the Bills and the "Trustee" or "Trustees" must manage the asset according to how the Trust was written. For example, Ralph could have written specific instructions in his trust such as " The team may not be sold for x years" or " The team must be sold to the highest bidder" etc. It is then up to the "Trustee" to manage the asset according to the rules of the Trust. In essence, the Trustee doesn't have much power .. they basically have to follow the instructions of the Trust. If the ownership has moved to an "Individual" this is a completely different situation. If Mary Wilson is the sole owner as an indvidual she can do as she damn well pleases. As an addendum.... perhaps they mean "Controlling Owner" in terms of how the NFL views her. It is quite possible that "Controlling Owner" doesn't necessarily mean that the Bills weren't moved into a Trust. Maybe as Trustee of the Trust Mary Wilson is deemed by the NFL as a "Controlling Owner" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobbyC81 Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 (edited) Out of curiosity, anyone know her age? I can't find anything about her age but, in the picture with Ralph at the Hall of Fame (circa 2009) displayed on buffalobills.com, she looks like she's maybe in her 50's. Wikipedia says they met in 1989 so, with simple math, my guesstimate might be off (low) but you never know. Edited April 3, 2014 by LittleJoeCartwright Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gavin in Va Beach Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Who own da Bills? OWWWWNNNNS! OWWWWWNNNNNS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan-4-Ever Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Of which message do you speak? exactly its like huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tisker A Tasker Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 She is 68. http://www.itftennis.com/seniors/players/player/profile.aspx?playerid=100008957 I can't find anything about her age but in the picture with Ralph at the Hall of Fame (circa 2009) she looks like she's maybe in her 50's. Wikipedia says they mey in 1989 so, with simple math, my guesstimate might be off (low) but you never know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buftex Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 (edited) I can't find anything about her age but in the picture with Ralph at the Hall of Fame (circa 2009) she looks like she's maybe in her 50's. Wikipedia says they mey in 1989 so, with simple math, my guesstimate might be off (low) but you never know. My guess too...somewhere in the 55-65 age. Edited April 3, 2014 by Buftex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyHorseAteTheKid Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Last time something like this happened.. Vince Ferragamo ended up sleeping in the former owners bed... Holy Carol Rosenblum... Say it ain't so!!! Be very careful Mary, JP Losman might be lurking in the bushes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan-4-Ever Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Looks and sounds like it's nothing more than the logical next step toward a sale of the team. or keep his kids from paying taxes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gugny Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 I believe she's born in 1946, putting her at 68 this year. If she were to live as long as Ralph, that would make her owner till 2041, another 28 seasons. So he met her in 1989, when he was 71 and she was 43 .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 @TheBuffaloNews Comment from Mary Wilson suggests no immediate changes will be made to operational structure http://bills.buffalonews.com/2014/04/03/mary-wilson-officially-assumes-control-bills/ … Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1B4IDie Posted April 3, 2014 Author Share Posted April 3, 2014 (edited) Nothing that we didnt expect. CBF Um, No one that I know expected this . . .this is actually unexpected. The team was expected to be held in a trust until the team was sold. This is different, there is a new sole owner, and that owner is Mary Wilson, not a trust. What does it mean!!! Edited April 3, 2014 by Why So Serious? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoloinOhio Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Um, No one that I know expected this . . .this is actually unexpected. The team was expected to be held in a trust until the team was sold. This is different, there is no sole owner, and that owner is Mary Wilson, not a trust. What does it mean!!! www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQSNhk5ICTI Yes, that was my understanding as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarkLessWagMore Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 This is the best news possible. It means that Ralph did exactly what many of us in the estate planning world hoped he would do. He transferred ownership to his much younger and healthier spouse using the unlimited marital transfer provision of the tax code. Essentially, the estate tax issues that have been discussed ad nauseum have now been postponed in full until Mary passes, which is hopefully a long, long time. In addition, unlike executors or trustees, she has no obligation to sell to the highest bidder. The Bills asset can now be transferred as she sees fit. Hopefully she remains the owner or has it in mind to sell to local interests as long as a competitive bid is made. This is important and great news that contradicts directly many things we were told prior to Ralph's passing, namely that no one in the Wilson family had any interest in owning the team. I suspect Ralph and Mary felt it was no one's business that they had made this plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Cubed Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Um, No one that I know expected this . . .this is actually unexpected. The team was expected to be held in a trust until the team was sold. This is different, there is no sole owner, and that owner is Mary Wilson, not a trust. What does it mean!!! www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQSNhk5ICTI You are quoting the update incorrectly. She is controlling owner, not sole owner. Big difference. If the team is in a trust and Ralph made her head of the trust, she would be in the NFL eyes controlling owner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papazoid Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 guess she could change her mind and choose not to sell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoloinOhio Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 This is the best news possible. It means that Ralph did exactly what many of us in the estate planning world hoped he would do. He transferred ownership to his much younger and healthier spouse using the unlimited marital transfer provision of the tax code. Essentially, the estate tax issues that have been discussed ad nauseum have now been postponed in full until Mary passes, which is hopefully a long, long time. In addition, unlike executors or trustees, she has no obligation to sell to the highest bidder. The Bills asset can now be transferred as she sees fit. Hopefully she remains the owner or has it in mind to sell to local interests as long as a competitive bid is made. This is important and great news that contradicts directly many things we were told prior to Ralph's passing, namely that no one in the Wilson family had any interest in owning the team. I suspect Ralph and Mary felt it was no one's business that they had made this plan. That is why I find this so confusing, this had been discussed for so long it is hard to believe that she made this decision within the last week. I assume as you do, there was a plan that they preferred not to share. BTW - for entertainment, Massare and Capaccio are going back and forth on Twitter about this - Massare somewhat claiming this validates his article from earlier this week, Sal not buying it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1B4IDie Posted April 3, 2014 Author Share Posted April 3, 2014 You are quoting the update incorrectly. She is controlling owner, not sole owner. Big difference. If the team is in a trust and Ralph made her head of the trust, she would be in the NFL eyes controlling owner. You are correct. http://www.buffalobills.com/ Mary Wilson, wife of the franchise’s late founder and sole owner, is now the controlling owner of the Buffalo Bills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyst Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 I seriously doubt this means anything more then just a title. Being the wife tax laws are likely different, I don't know. Others might. Also, it is not finalized or probably even close to half finalized. Estates take a lot of time to close and one as big as RCW Jr. will take many months. Still, I reckon it could have been placed in a trust of some sort - which makes me think Mary is likely to be ridding herself of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CodeMonkey Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 (edited) Um, No one that I know expected this . . .this is actually unexpected. The team was expected to be held in a trust until the team was sold. This is different, there is a new sole owner, and that owner is Mary Wilson, not a trust. What does it mean!!! www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQSNhk5ICTI http://www.buffalobi...98-b83b955dfec1 The Bills organization today is announcing that Mary Wilson, wife of the franchise’s late founder and sole owner, is now the controlling owner. I would have quoted the next line in the article as well, but didn't want to get a warning point for quoting too much. But this is nothing unexpected, and certainly is not a guarantee of the Bills staying in Buffalo any more than it is a guarantee that they will leave. Simply part of the process. Go on about your business. Nothing to panic over, or rejoice about here. Edited April 3, 2014 by CodeMonkey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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