I know what I would do—and you are _not_ going to like it:
https://info.legalzoom.com/end-obligations-being-executor-will-20474.html
On the surface of it, it sounds like the best thing to do would be to sell it and divy up the proceeds.
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I can’t solve this but you might clarify for others what your goal is for the estate according to your mother’s wishes, split it equally, etc. And whether the siblings are on board/how many.
Sorry for your loss.
sell it all or if sibling wants house 4 leave that as their “Inheritance” if no one wants to farm it, if no one wants to mow the yard, let it go. Let the past go, it is where you grew up but that was then, not to sound to harsh forget the emotion or legacy, it is the past, recall it, enjoy it at family gatherings, do not hang on to it.
Problem 1: Given no one wants to farm it, this problem suggests the farm should be sold.
Problem 2: She was compensated for her work, drew a salary and appears she had room and board. I would view this as no different than anyone else who had a job, and finds them self out of work. It has no bearing on the financial aspects of the sale of the farm.
Problem 3: This simply means the house doesn’t add much to the sale price of the farm. Have an independent appraiser determine the value of the property and put it on the market at that price. If a sibling wants to buy it, they can. The net proceeds from the sale are distributed among the heirs.
You need to view this a a purely financial matter and keep any and all emotion out of it.
Figure out highest and best use of property and maximize return is your duty as executor.
A good lawyer might help you. I know they get a bad rep, but there are many honorable ones.
(Also a good financial advisor.)
I don’t envy you...you’re in a difficult situation.Property in the family for 150 years takes on an emotional importance that cannot be denied.
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Can you partition the land; keeping the home on a far smaller piece of land and sell everything around it?
The first thing is to talk to everyone affected by keeping or selling the property.
Not knowing where the property is..
My first reaction for now is get sheep and goats to mow the lawn. Grow milkweed in a section to be a Monarch Butterfly sanctuary (no watering needed). Plants Christmas trees to sell, guess when?!
Just because the house is not up-to date may make it easy to sell. New owners can use it as a ‘foundation’ to build their dream house.
Prayers for the arthritic sibling.
Also prayers for you.
First thing, take a consensus from the family. Depending on the outcome of that you will need to determine the next avenue to proceed down.
If you get a fully stepped up basis as of date of death, just sell and distribute the interests.
If there is capital gain, distribute the ratable interests to each sibling and sell. Each sibling can choose to do a tax deferred 1031 exchange into another investment property or pay the tax and keep the cash.
You don’t specify how many acres are involved with the farm, or what it’s good for, or how many houses (4th?) are on the property. But here’s a general idea, which was very commonly done in the midwest US for decades. Divide up the property into farmable land and “house”. Typically the farm land is salable to neighboring farmers who will remove barriers and have the benefit of a larger contiguous plot. Or to anyone else willing to pay the price.
The “house” should be left with 5 acres or so, which then makes it a “farmette” which is always a desirable property for those wishing to “live the country life” with animals and a large garden, maybe a few hobby crops, etc. These have traditionally sold at premium prices even if the house is a fixer-upper because they are scarce and demand is high.
If the family member is living in a house within that parcel, either carve it out too or work with your lawyer to create a lifetime lease agreement as long as the person is alive so it can be sold but the person can continue to live there. Make it part of the purchase contract, all of which a lawyer can arrange.
Maybe there’s more to it but it seems to me this is a pretty straightforward solution. Good luck, I know it’s hard and stressful. But sincerely, talk to some legal and real estate professionals that you trust, this is what they’re good at.
Rent it out. 50 year old can go live with a family member and do housework and errands for them for keep.
Every five years re-assess.
Make improvements one at a time with any profits from renting.
Everyone donates their share to the disabled sibling who lives in the house. He/she is family and possibly the one in the worst circumstance. Then nothing needs to be sold, but all of you have to be magnanimous, in the first place.
1.) Nobody wants to farm it, but they probably want the monetary value. Sell the farm. It is always sad, but life goes on.
2.) Your sibling who cared for your parents should be helped IMO. There should be an accommodation between all of you to do this if it is possible legally. When my mother passed, our family fractured, but thankfully, my oldest brother and his wife who lived with her did the bulk of the care, and they got the house. As they should have.
3.) Just sell the house regardless of the work needed. Get what you can.
Sorry for your loss, FRiend.
Try to reach a 100% consensus from everyone involved on how to proceed. Just tell them if that condition cannot be met that you have no alternative but to seek legal counsel. #2 get legal counsel anyway so papers can be drawn and signed on the legal thing to do. #3 Get some rest. Share this burden with them and the attorney so it’s not all on you.
While I understand that the property has been in the family for a very long time and that you have some sadness at the possibility of having to end this familial ownership tradition but, you must face the reality that no one of the current recipients designated in the Will is willing to take on the responsibility of carrying on this tradition and the Will tasks you with overseeing the division of assets in some proportion among the beneficiaries.
Thus, the logical thing to do is sell and divide the proceeds in accordance with and in honor of the respects outlined in the Will.
The only way to avoid this is if all the beneficiaries agree to defer the process to accommodate the unemployed ailing person. But, if they object then that person will have to find other arrangements.
It would have been better had the assets been in a Trust and you were the Trustee with Absolute Power of Attorney. Why? Because then you would be the sole decider.
The others would not have any legal input or legal recourse so, you could decide to defer the distribution to accommodate the unemployed ailing person as long as you deemed necessary to accommodate that person’s need if you chose to do so. The other parties would have no choice but to accept your decision.