Legal Question in Business Law in New Jersey

Church board of directors

Our church had 4 board members (sr. pastor, his wife, assoc. pastor and 1 other). Due to personal/internal problems, the board members along with leadership left the church. The only board members left are the pastor and associate pastor. Upon the other members leaving, the senior pastor placed himself on sabbatical for an undisclosed amt. of time and placed the assoc. pastor in charge. Members of the congregation had a meeting regarding the ''change in management'' with the assoc. pastor now as ''Acting Senior Pastor.'' We have minutes of that meeting and have each signed it certifying the changes. Can this be used as legal documentation? The minutes or any legal paperwork were never updated to reflect changes in leadership nor board membership because there was no one left in the office to update anything. The senior pastor was involved in an accident, and now his wife and the 1 other person are returning to assume the positions they ''abandoned.'' Can they do this? In a meeting, I asked this question, and they said that since no changes were filed with the state, they are still board members. We are troubled by this because they abandoned the office and church and are returning as though nothing ever happen.


Asked on 12/10/07, 2:49 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Ronald Cappuccio Ronald J. Cappuccio, J.D., LL.M.(Tax)

Re: Church board of directors

Your church needs a lawyer! Setting-up churches as a non-profit organization takes a lot of time and effort. If it is done right, the Church ByLaws have provisions to deal with these issues. If it was not set-up to deal with these contingencies, the must be addressed now.

I hope this helps!

Ron Cappuccio

http://www.TaxEsq.com

Read more
Answered on 12/10/07, 10:25 am
Walter LeVine Walter D. LeVine, Esq.

Re: Church board of directors

I agree with Ron that the place to start is by reviewing the By-Laws established when the Church was first started and applied for its tax exemption. The By-Laws should have covered this and the procedures for changing the Board, covering interim changes and the like. Presuming that you followed these procedures, and the proper quorum was at the meeting, you seem to be home free. The founding documents need to be reviewed, possibly updated and required federal and state filings may also need to be updated. An attorney failiar with tax-exempt organizations and Churches, in particular, should be consulted. This is a response to an Internet question and the reply is not intended to be legal advice or as creating an attorney-client relationship.

Read more
Answered on 12/10/07, 11:26 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Business Law questions and answers in New Jersey