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Forkbeard · 10-16-2020, 04:16 PM

Let's say you have three siblings, and the four of you inherit 100 acres of land.

You each have an undivided 25% interest in the 100 acres. You can all access and use the 100 acres; you each have an equal right to be there and to exclude everybody else in the world (except the four of you).

But you typically (laws vary by state) can't do anything to diminish the rights of your co-owners. You might not be able to cut the logs and sell them, building any permanents structure might be tricky, and selling off bits of it would be right out.

This is such a fucked-up state of affairs (it always leads to fights) that if the land is of much/any value, somebody usually goes to court with a petition to sever their interest. Which is to say, they ask the court to give them clear title to their own 25 acres, which they can then use or sell without limitation.

Only, it's expensive! Because you need a survey. Except for perfect pasture, the acres aren't equally good; there's hills and ditches and swamps and access issues (where is the driveway?) and all kinds of problems dividing any parcel fairly. If you and your sibs can draw a line on the existing plat that you all like, getting a lawyer to run that through the courts won't be too bad. But if you don't agree? Or, like, just one sib wants to do it, but the others do not? Then the one sib has to pay for a surveyor, and maybe some assessors/appraisers, to draw and propose an equitable VALUE (not equitable acreage) division. And he/she will always wind up in court FIGHTING about the division with some sib who thinks the proposal is not perfectly fair. That gets REALLY expensive; in rural places where land is only a few thousand bucks an acre, the fight is never worth paying for.

And that's why somebody owns 100 acres jointly with three other people. The fool who BUYS this interest will own those acres jointly with three strangers. If this is prime development land in a major urban area, then maybe the cost of getting it divided will be worth it. But generally? No. Perfect nightmare. Barely worth it if the land was free.

10-16-2020, 04:16 PM
Forkbeard Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: I Roam Around Posts: 2,236	Let's say you have three siblings, and the four of you inherit 100 acres of land. You each have an undivided 25% interest in the 100 acres. You can all access and use the 100 acres; you each have an equal right to be there and to exclude everybody else in the world (except the four of you). But you typically (laws vary by state) can't do anything to diminish the rights of your co-owners. You might not be able to cut the logs and sell them, building any permanents structure might be tricky, and selling off bits of it would be right out. This is such a fucked-up state of affairs (it always leads to fights) that if the land is of much/any value, somebody usually goes to court with a petition to sever their interest. Which is to say, they ask the court to give them clear title to their own 25 acres, which they can then use or sell without limitation. Only, it's expensive! Because you need a survey. Except for perfect pasture, the acres aren't equally good; there's hills and ditches and swamps and access issues (where is the driveway?) and all kinds of problems dividing any parcel fairly. If you and your sibs can draw a line on the existing plat that you all like, getting a lawyer to run that through the courts won't be too bad. But if you don't agree? Or, like, just one sib wants to do it, but the others do not? Then the one sib has to pay for a surveyor, and maybe some assessors/appraisers, to draw and propose an equitable VALUE (not equitable acreage) division. And he/she will always wind up in court FIGHTING about the division with some sib who thinks the proposal is not perfectly fair. That gets REALLY expensive; in rural places where land is only a few thousand bucks an acre, the fight is never worth paying for. And that's why somebody owns 100 acres jointly with three other people. The fool who BUYS this interest will own those acres jointly with three strangers. If this is prime development land in a major urban area, then maybe the cost of getting it divided will be worth it. But generally? No. Perfect nightmare. Barely worth it if the land was free. __________________ Offering sponsored blog posts and custom writing services.