Land and Inheritance (1 Viewer)

[livefromDC]

Bringing this question to the group. How has your family historically dealt with land? Upon death, has it been divided up or kept together? What has been done when a sibling has wanted their share or wanted to sell for money?

If not passed down upon death, how has your family passed on land or property? Have family members just been allowed to live in a family house without outright giving it to them or has the owner gone through with giving or "selling" the home to that family member? How do you keep it straight?

Lastly, in cases where there's no will (particularly in Louisiana because well, our laws are different but it would be interesting to hear what has happened elsewhere), what do you do? The home and land my grandmother lived on before she died was her father's orignall but he didnt leave a will. When he died, my mom, her siblings, and all her first cousins think they have a claim on the property...and I think they're right. That's a lot of people. Sigh....


At any rate, how has your family historically handled land, property, dividing it up or helping their children get their own?

 

[DaveXA]

Bringing this question to the group. How has your family historically dealt with land? Upon death, has it been divided up or kept together? What has been done when a sibling has wanted their share or wanted to sell for money?

If not passed down upon death, how has your family passed on land or property? Have family members just been allowed to live in a family house without outright giving it to them or has the owner gone through with giving or "selling" the home to that family member? How do you keep it straight?

Lastly, in cases where there's no will (particularly in Louisiana because well, our laws are different but it would be interesting to hear what has happened elsewhere), what do you do? The home and land my grandmother lived on before she died was her father's orignall but he didnt leave a will. When he died, my mom, her siblings, and all her first cousins think they have a claim on the property...and I think they're right. That's a lot of people. Sigh....


At any rate, how has your family historically handled land, property, dividing it up or helping their children get their own?

When my grandparents passed, family had to sell the house and property in order to split the estate. Some of it was a convoluted mess, others pretty straightforward. It can vary quite a bit depending on the state you're in and what's in the will. Also depends on the value of the estate and whether it's subject to estate taxes, but the estate has to be pretty substantial at that point.

Good estate planning can help resolve a lot of those issues. Life insurance benefits can be used to help keep an estate intact if that's something the family wants to do.

 

[Twyst]

Ive never dealt with it but have seen it get really ugly with people I know. I think if there is no will you have to sell it and split it up or someone needs to buy everyone else's stake at fair market value and keep it for themselves to avoid major drama.

Im actually in the process of going through everything with my mom right now in the event she gets the virus so there are no issues. Its so morbid and heartbreaking but having recently lost my father and her having pretty much all of the things you DONT want if you get covid we have to prepare for the worst.

 

[Mr. Blue Sky]

When my grandfather passed away in La a few years back, one of my aunts moved into his house.. she basically bought the house from her siblings (inc my dad), by receiving a smaller amount/fraction of the inheritance based on the value of the house, i believe.. i cant remember the exact details, but that’s basically how it went down.. it wasnt acrimonious or anything, and I remember the whole process being pretty easy and straightforward, esp since i dont think any of it was addressed in the will.. they sort of figured it out amongst themselves, but then again, they all get along and there are lots of families where that isnt the case.

 

[livefromDC]

Ive never dealt with it but have seen it get really ugly with people I know. I think if there is no will you have to sell it and split it up or someone needs to buy everyone else's stake at fair market value and keep it for themselves to avoid major drama.

Im actually in the process of going through everything with my mom right now in the event she gets the virus so there are no issues. Its so morbid and heartbreaking but having recently lost my father and her having pretty much all of the things you DONT want if you get covid we have to prepare for the worst.

Exactly. My parents and in-laws are really naive about this stuff. My parents wont share any of their plans with me and my sister, so I dont know if they have something or not. That doesnt bother me much since it's only 2 of us siblings. I'll just go along with whatever my sister wants. My wife's dad thinks that it's okay to just leave everything to the three of them and they will do what's right by each other. He doesnt know his kids...at all. My wife's an attorney and has been trying to make them sure up their plans because she'd rather not have to be the one to do it later.

 

[Turfie]

My mom and her brothers got 2,000 acres of land from their parents. Mom got 1 acre.

The 2 brothers got about 1,000 acres of land because that was how it was done during that time.

 

[Goatman Saint]

Dads side of the family was passed down as a whole to the oldest brother until grandmas generation. Since there were no boys the oldest sister got it. Since she’s still alive going on about a thousand years old I have no idea who gets it when she passes, or if anyone wants a giant field in North Dakota. It’s pretty much worthless in all honesty.

Moms side she has no idea who owns it, to the best of her knowledge it just sits there. That would be the one I’d love to have since it’s on a beautifully forested chunk of land 6 miles from the Canadian border not far from glacier park. But, as I said, no one even knows who owns it.

 

[Swamprat]

Dads side of the family was passed down as a whole to the oldest brother until grandmas generation. Since there were no boys the oldest sister got it. Since she’s still alive going on about a thousand years old I have no idea who gets it when she passes, or if anyone wants a giant field in North Dakota. It’s pretty much worthless in all honesty.

Moms side she has no idea who owns it, to the best of her knowledge it just sits there. That would be the one I’d love to have since it’s on a beautifully forested chunk of land 6 miles from the Canadian border not far from glacier park. But, as I said, no one even knows who owns it.

In a local courthouse will be a title that shows the owner, I'd start there. Then it would take some legal legwork to determine who are the current living owners.

I've not been directly involved with trying to find/settle ownership of legacy family land, but I've seen it a couple times with my Dad and my in-laws. In both instances the original owners had passed and some secondary owners had passed. "Owners" were in the several dozen range for one and a couple of dozen for another, quite the mess to untangle.

 

[Scorpius the Allfather]

The house I live in was divided up between my grandma's 4 primary siblings. My mom died in 1997. Her shares went to her 3 kids, Lord Tice and myself being two of those. After my grandma died, my mom's share got split between the 3 of us. Since then, my uncle who's the primary owner wanted to get upgrades to the house that required a single ownership so we sold our shares for 5,000 each. I subsequently wasted that money. That's all the experience I have in that.

 

[Mr. Blue Sky]

The house I live in was divided up between my grandma's 4 primary siblings. My mom died in 1997. Her shares went to her 3 kids, Lord Tice and myself being two of those. After my grandma died, my mom's share got split between the 3 of us. Since then, my uncle who's the primary owner wanted to get upgrades to the house that required a single ownership so we sold our shares for 5,000 each. I subsequently wasted that money. That's all the experience I have in that.

I’m kinda slow, but- if you sold your shares, then how do you now live in the house?

 

[Scorpius the Allfather]

I’m kinda slow, but- if you sold your shares, then how do you now live in the house?

I've been living with my uncle since I was 7-8 years old and that's who I sold the shares to. He's pretty much a father figure to me so I'll always be living here unless I win the lottery and want a bigger room.

 

[Mr. Blue Sky]

I've been living with my uncle since I was 7-8 years old and that's who I sold the shares to. He's pretty much a father figure to me so I'll always be living here unless I win the lottery and want a bigger room.

Oh, gotcha.. that makes sense

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

Katrina made it so I don’t have to worry about that stuff
Bless her heart

 

[UncleTrvlingJim]

It usually involves lawsuits and lots of bitter feelings.

 

[LA_Steve]

Well if your family fights over it long enough the state will auction the properties off to the highest bidder on the courthouse steps and make yall split it . If no one shows they will sell for peanuts.