Alexander Lewis, a millionaire who passed away in 2020, left an estate valued at roughly $28 million with instructions to support animal charities. However, he did not specify which organizations should receive the funds, instead naming his longtime friend and accountant, Victoria Marie, as the executor responsible for determining the beneficiaries. Following his death, Marie allocated the majority of the estate’s assets in 2024 to two newly established nonprofits founded by her friends: Preston’s Planet Foundation and Foster Friends Rescue.

Preston’s Planet, created by Laura Nativo—a pet lifestyle personality and former dog training reality show contestant—received about $9 million, including a Malibu mansion destroyed in the 2018 Woolsey fire and recently rebuilt. The organization’s stated mission is to train service dogs primarily for women and children. Foster Friends Rescue, founded by Wanda Love, a local chamber of commerce leader and city council member in Gardena, received additional funds from the estate, bringing their total combined allocation to approximately $14.7 million.

While the donations have been significant, questions have been raised regarding the operations and effectiveness of both nonprofits. Preston’s Planet has not yet placed any service dogs and remains in early development phases. The organization also pays Nativo a six-figure salary. Foster Friends Rescue claims to have found homes for over 800 pets, but local shelters report no formal collaboration, and the nonprofit’s expenditures on pet supplies have been minimal. Notably, Foster Friends Rescue lent a large sum of money to Love, whose family holds several leadership roles within the organizations, and also contributed $50,000 to the chamber of commerce she chairs.

Concerns surrounding the execution of Lewis’s will have extended beyond the charities themselves. Critics and members of Lewis’s family, including his widow Paula Huhmann Lewis, have questioned Marie’s role and decisions during Lewis’s final years, citing his apparent dementia and alleging manipulation. Paula Lewis, who initially trusted Marie, now resides in assisted living, and multiple lawsuits and conservatorship disputes have arisen, reflecting broader apprehensions about exploitation and ethical stewardship in estate management.

Lewis’s original will reportedly mentioned well-known animal welfare groups such as PETA and the SPCA, but Marie chose to depart from these directives, leading to scrutiny regarding the transparency and fiduciary responsibility of the executor. The case has brought into focus the complexities of charitable bequests when the intentions of donors are not fully specified and when personal relationships may influence the distribution of significant assets.