What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Indiana. Can someone please tell me how to legally divide up our farm between 8 siblings? What papers and where to file? Should we hire probate attorney? Can we legally survey & divide it ourselves?
NO land division should be done without the following: a complete title search so that all easements, right of ways, and deed restrictions are known. And that title report needs to be provided to the surveyor so that property lines are set out with those in mind, AND all shown on the proposed division map. You don't want to end up with a some lots that are unbuildable because some easement intersects the middle of those yards that cannot be constructed upon. You also need to talk to the municipality and determine what their requirements for minimum lot sizes, set backs, wetlands management, and land division approval may be. Example: a scattered wetland area may need to be retained, or a partial fill area offset be creation of an artificial wetland elsewhere (fill the front, create more wetlands in back), so you can't merely draw lines on a drawing, and all parcels may vary as to useability. Legal access to the street is also an essential, so easements may also need to be created for some lots, or an access road created. The division will need to be submitted and approved by the local municipality, and there may be some requirements they set out in a developers agreement that you will need to comply with.
Speak to your probate attorney about how they recommend the division be handled during the preparation and approval process. I strongly recommend using a real estate attorney and getting the division done right in the first place, rather than creating future litigation issues by failing to consider factors that may be important when setting out the division.
