About 20 years or so ago, my husband, his two brothers, and his mom went in together and purchased land outside the city where we live. It was in all of their names together… So everybody owned all of it. Not the best plan.
So, all three of the sons have passed away, as well as their mom. There have been issues between the families that concern me. And I have been paying the taxes on my part as well as for 2 of the remaining 3 parts. And it hasn’t really been out of the goodness of my heart, as much as the fact that if the taxes don’t get paid, we all lose all of the land.
So… I have gotten everyone to agree that we will divide the property evenly and each person get full ownership of a part of the land.
Here’s my question. Now I own my husband’s part. But I have 3 boys who will eventually each own 1/3 of the property. Two of them plan to build on the property and live there. One son is a "city dweller" and he will probably just sell it to his brothers. They will have the right of first refusal.
But I’m trying to determine if I want to subdivide the land. It seems like a no-brainer, right? I should’ve learned my lesson that sometimes families don’t get along and it is best to have things set up legally. However, I’m trying my best not to micromanage things for my boys and I want to show confidence in their ability to handle this on their own.
On the other hand, my husband didn’t think that there would be issues with his brother’s either. But it would all have been so much easier if we had originally owned our own individual parts of the land.
Should I do the obvious and go ahead and subdivide my part of the property, or should I leave it as it is and let my boys take care of it with the hopes that it will strengthen their relationship to work it out together?
"Noone can make you feel inferior without your concent." Eleanor Roosevelt
I will not be vanquished. Rose Kennedy
