Posted on 02/16/2020 8:03:42 PM PST by madison10
This is swirling in my brain and there seems to be no good answer:
I am executor of my parents' estate. My mom passed away less than a month ago. In order to distribute the estate according to the will the farm property (and probably house) will have to be sold...or something.
Problem 1: the property has been in the family over 150 years. No one in the family farms it. We are at the end of progeny who "might" want to farm it. The one possibility is in high school still. All of the adult children but one live adjacent to the property.
Problem 2: one sibling who cared for our parents (sibling received a regular paycheck from parents for their care and lived with parents) currently lives in the family home. Said sibling is single, almost 50, has trouble walking due to arthritis, and now has no job. The fourth home "on" the property is where the sibling lives.
Problem 3:The house is 44 years old and has not been updated much. The yard is probably at least three acres to mow. Honestly, I am not sure the other siblings would want to buy the house or are able. It needs fixing up for sure.
The dilemma is: what would YOU suggest occur? There seems to be no answer in my brain. There is the business side of this, but the emotional/legacy side is tearing me up. Not sleeping a ton.
Thank you, oh wise ones.
if they cant find oil, plant Christmas trees or shrubs, rent a lot to a nursery
I’ve got one word for you.....Tasmanian Devils.
They are the new Golden Retriever.
Get a breeding pair and turn em loose on the ranch.
Their diet consists mostly of hippies, so just advertise a Grateful Dead concert at the ranch once a year.
wow, could make a nice rifle range, too
I did think of the parceling, but the way it is three siblings have homes/large lots on one side of the property so any parcels would be sort of useless as there is no frontage. There is frontage that could be sold.
I feel for you. That is tough. As one of my relatives said when talking about distributing family property... “There is ONE in every family.” In other words, someone makes trouble and seems to want everything. (Not my situation)
Land increases in value nearly every year. You can write off much of the rent on maintenance and upkeep.
The property is NOT yours. Your duty as executor is to fulfill the wishes of the deceased as given in the will. Whether you like it, hate it, agree with it; or despise it. Do the job; or resign. It is a thankless job. No one is going to be happy, no matter what you do. So do EXACTLY what will says, and you can honestly say “I had no choice; I simply did what was instructed “
It really is that simple
Or, so what you think best; likely get sued for fraud, be ostracized by your family and be miserable. Your choice
The sister which lived with your parents deserves consideration beyond her share of the estate. Anyone who spends several years helping your parents sustain a quality of life before passing, especially if she is facing a life alone going forward.
If all but one lives adjacent to the farm consider splitting the farm among them. Their share of the estate does not need to be in cash.
Another consideration is the property itself. Land surrounding a city will only increase in value over time. You don't mention where this farm is, but if it is within 30 miles of a major city - verses in Western Nebraska - I would hold on to it. Sell off enough to pay the taxes and keep the property for now.
One of my clients south of Dallas kept the family farm together (and in Ag land valuation) for nearly 15 years before selling it. The decision was worth over $3,000,000 in additional value as Dallas grew out to the area. To minimize taxes they are going to subdivide it and sell it off to housing developers in chunks over the next few years.
Which part of the farm and houses holds the most memories? Keep it by transferring it to a nearby family member.
Need immediate cash? Lease the land to another farmer while you work through the details. It may take a few seasons before everything becomes clear.
“I have trying to find a way to please everyone.”
A futile attempt that is unlikely to succeed. Do what is best given the wishes of the deceased. There may be an angry recipient or two (or more) but, you can sleep peacefully knowing you followed their wishes intended as best you could given the circumstances.
With regards to the unemployed ailing person, I would get together with the other intended recipients and discuss that persons situation and see if an agreement can be reached regarding that persons situation.
This should be done amongst everyone but her in a family meeting. If no consensus is reached and you are the sole decider then you will have to make that decision and inform everyone of what you decided and why.
You might wonder why am I taking the time to provide so much input? Because I’ve been there done that. I was designated the Trustee and given Absolute Power of Attorney for the Trusts of my parents, my grandparents and my aunt’s (my mom’s sister) estates.
The Reagan Ranch uses sheep and goats to maintain the property works GREAT!!!
fundamentally, as executor of the estate, you are LEGALLY obligated to carry out the provisions of the will ... period ... so look to the will for what your options are, if any ... if you ignore the provisions of the will or act contrary to them, then you could face tremendous liability from one or more of the heirs ...
Thank you! You are the best and why I posted this here.
The will/trust is not very detailed. It said a few general things, but boy it sure is open for interpretation.
Put land in family trust then lease it for agricultural use. Proceeds to be spit amongst the heirs.
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Problem 2: one sibling who cared for our parents (sibling received a regular paycheck from parents for their care and lived with parents) currently lives in the family home. Said sibling is single, almost 50, has trouble walking due to arthritis, and now has no job. The fourth home "on" the property is where the sibling lives.
Let her stay there. SHE did the hard job.
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Problem 3: The house is 44 years old and has not been updated much. The yard is probably at least three acres to mow. Honestly, I am not sure the other siblings would want to buy the house or are able. It needs fixing up for sure.
THAT you HAVE to deal with.
HIRE a major league gardener or landscaper to do SOMETHING with the acres. It can also be rented out to others who might want to farm it.
HIRE a major league contractor who can update the house. Otherwise you might as well give up the house.
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Before you do all that hire a lawyer to put all that down in writing: who does what, who pays for what and how much each is entitled to.
If you DON'T settle ALL OF THIS ahead of time you will have a FAMILY BATTLE until the END OF TIME.
Promise everyone a HUGE BBQ at the end of the remake...and invite the lawyer.
well, advice is free...so take it with a grain of salt, but my wife and i were in a similar spot with my mom’s estate.
1. carefully and prayerfully read and understand your parent’s instrument (will or trust). your job as the fiduciary is to faithfully execute that instrument to the letter of your parent’s wishes. you will need to know that instrument (or your lawyer does) backwards and forwards to engage in any meetings.
2. you have time. more time than you think. so take the time to get all the information. don’t do anything hasty. the instrument itself may give you discretion and time to build up the estate for the beneficiaries. many lifetimes of value are in that estate. don’t sell it short.
3. get advice. like you’re doing here. For us “Estate and Trust Adminstration for Dummies” is, believe it or not, a great introductory resource, written by an estate lawyer and an EA (tax expert). but then act ultimately on man’s advice but go with your own good judgment, gut and of course the Holy Spirit.
4. real property is always more valuable than consideration in my humble opinion. this is generational property. consider doing what we are doing: we are setting up a family trust to hold the property we have for future generations. that takes family agreement, however, which takes God’s intervention. i tend to disagree with the comments that just say sell it and get it over with. at least take the time to know what you are selling.
5. don’t let it degenerate into a conflict between beneficiaries. keep on the level of your mom’s wishes.
we’ll that’s a start. May God Bless and Guide you as He has us.
This is a tough problem. I am executor of my parent’s estate. 80 acres, with a business on site and the family home we all love for 50 years. Time is coming when one parent, who is older, will be forced by age to stop being a work-a-holic. He may very well die working, as many say he will..as be grew up during The Great Depression and just won’t stop working and is in his 80s.
Lately, I’ve been thinking how eventually the property will need to be sold. It will be sad of course, to never go back there someday, but it will need to be sold. The business is too large to dismantle, and it would be rather stupid to not sell the whole place when the time comes since the business is attached to the farm, barns and is very near the wonderful house we all worked so hard on to remodel into a very nice home.
But all 3 of us “kids” will miss that farm and house terribly.
However, 50 years ago the previous long time owners sold it to my parents....this is how it must be. That family missed it too and visited a few times.
My advice is to do the difficult thing that I will carry out, and let another family become the next owners.
Good luck FRiend
Full disclosure: you’d be an idiot to take advice from me.
That said, over the 6.8 decades I have spent here, I have observed that nothing is as important as family, and that the second most important thing is owning land.
Make SURE you have full knowledge of any and all of your parents' BANK ACCOUNTS, IRAs, ETC.. Could be some hidden assets you're not aware of. If parents CASH assets exceed 150k, the matter has to go to PROBATE court for judgment. If cash assets are UNDER 150k, Executor can distribute money without court adjudication. The house and farm property is a separate issue.
Also, do they have any credit card or other DEBTS to.. ANYONE? Could also be some hidden DEBTS you're not aware of.
An attorney could save you TONS of stress and not too terribly expensive, relatively speaking.
I agree with some other FReepers who suggest carving out the house property if allowable, selling off the rest and dividing up the proceeds to the remaining siblings.
I think there's something about submitting the 'exemption from reassessment' form with the State if property passes from parent to offspring upon death. This is very important to avoid property reassessment but your attorney will give you a heads up on this.
That's my two cents. Tax time is coming. If you mom hadn't filed her FY2019 taxes yet, I would file for an extension pronto and either ask your attorney or a tax person about how to handle her FY2019 tax forms.
Can the sales amount of the farm be used to buy new homes for every one else where? The unemployed sibling should apply for disability. That sibling was not being paid but supported by the mother.
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