Judge interviews hopefuls for UEP trustee positions

ST. GEORGE — Eight individuals vying for positions on the advisory board of the United Effort Plan Trust were prodded with personal questions during a hearing held in 5th District Court Friday.

Third District Judge Denise Lindberg presided over the interviews, which focused on each applicant's background, motivation for the volunteer post and any connections to polygamous communities in Utah, Arizona, Canada or elsewhere.

The board advises Bruce Wisan, the court-appointed special fiduciary who has managed the assets of the communal trust on the Utah/Arizona border since 2005. Much of the trust's estimated $100 million in assets is tied to property, homes and buildings in Hildale, Washington County, and Colorado City in Mohave County, Ariz.

Most residents of the twin cities belong to the Fundamentalist FLDS Church, which is under the control of jailed polygamous leader Warren Jeffs. Many of those who no longer belong to the FLDS faith were either kicked out of the church or left of their own accord in recent years.

Intertwined family trees that stem from plural family backgrounds are common denominators for many residents, even if they don't belong to the same religion anymore, said several of the applicants.

"We're all related in this town," said Seth Cooke, a general contractor who now lives in Cane Beds, Ariz., a community near the polygamous towns. "One of the main reasons why I want to be on the board is that some of my family members are in the First Ward (the FLDS Church). You can't walk away from someone you love. The biggest satisfaction I could have is to give people the deeds to their homes and remove the fear of being kicked out."

Under Jeffs' rule, dozens of men were told to leave their families and homes behind to "repent from afar." Most of the men did as they were told. Under the original UEP trust, worthy FLDS men were assigned lots on which to build homes and raise families.

Members also donated labor and materials toward community projects and helped neighbors build their homes. Property deeds were entrusted to the UEP, and members could be evicted or moved from home to home by the former trustees.

Straightening out which person should be able to lay claim to a piece of property or determine how to fairly divide contested properties is a monumental task, said Wisan.