A settlement over the once-contested will of a Maui millionaire known as "The Baron" means that more than 20 organizations and more than 20 individuals will each receive "a significant amount of money," said a deputy attorney general involved in the case.

The terms of the $61 million settlement reached in Maui Circuit Court on Wednesday are sealed. But Deputy Attorney General Hugh Jones said the groups and individuals who had been cut out of a second will by the late railroad heir Laurence H. Dorcy will now receive a "substantial amount of money, a significant amount of money. They would not have received anything if the (original) will had been upheld."

The mainland and Hawaii organizations include the USS Missouri Memorial Association, the East Maui Animal Refuge, the Hawaiian Railroad Society and University of California regents.

Before they receive any money, Jones said, Dorcy’s vast resources have to be liquidated, including his "big Kula estate, a large car collection, condos in Waikiki and property in California and an interest in a big timber partnership," Jones said Thursday. "At this point, that’s where the rubber meets the road. There’s a lot of work to be done."

The settlement overseen by Maui Chief Circuit Judge Shackley Raffetto ends a dispute over who should inherit the estate of Dorcy, who died June 2 at age 76.

He had born into wealth in San Francisco in 1936 as the great-grandson of legendary railroad baron James Jerome Hill, founder of the Great Northern Railway, who died as one of America’s richest men.

Dorcy, who was never married and had no heirs, originally bequeathed his assets to the individuals and organizations in a 2006 will.

But in January 2011, Dorcy executed a second will that made a Kula country grocery store owner named Hans Kanuha the sole beneficiary.

Dorcy then adopted the 42-year-old Kanuha on April 4, 2011.

In February a key ruling by Raffetto "shifted the burden to Mr. Kanuha to prove that he did not exercise under influence" over Dorcy to get him to change his will, Jones said.

"Clearly that was a significant factor that led to the settlement," Jones said.

Jones declined to characterize how much Kanuha will receive from the settlement.

Neither Kanuha nor his Wai­luku attorney returned telephone calls from the Star-Advertiser seeking comment.

In February, after a tentative settlement had been reached, Kanuha told the Star-Advertiser that he was pleased with the terms.

And he adamantly denied the most serious allegations against him in court documents that he had conspired to get himself adopted and did not get Dorcy immediate medical care before he died.

The settlement also means that three attorneys who represented the interim trustee of Dorcy’s estate will receive less than they originally sought.

Honolulu lawyers Michael Rudy and Carroll Taylor previously were awarded $838,000 in attorney fees. Wednesday’s settlement means they will split an additional $4.5 million.

"Myself and Carroll Taylor put up virtually all of the costs," Rudy said. "We were owed about $14 million in attorney fees … but we got $4.5 million of the $14.5 million."

Wailuku attorney Isaac Hall previously had been awarded $206,000 from Dorcy’s estate and was granted an extra $1 million Wednesday.