Thanks for the post and ping.
I heard an interesting comment/rumor last week re the California parishes getting to keep their property if they split.
The ACLU of all organizations might be on the side of the splitting parishes. Most bishops don't want to tangle with the ACLU and the additional bad publicity of a front page lawsuit with the Parish and the ACLU going after the bishop.
Interesting.
So you look at the deed records, the corporate papers, etc, to see if a trust has been created.