I know how bad this sounds....

west virginia. My family has been on the same land for over 150 years. When my grandmother died, it was passed on to her children. My mother died before my grandmother. My aunts are *literally* crazy. One aunt had no children and the other had 2. If my mother had been alive when my grandmother died, all 3 would have gotten equal shares. It would have, eventually, pased to my cousins and my sister and I. I'm fairly sure both my aunts have wills but due to unfortunate family dynamics, I'm almost 100% sure that my sister and I are not included. When the time finally comes (could be many years even though they are in their 80's), do my sister and I have any way to get what our share would have been if my mother had lived? It is very likely that my cousins will sell, which is whan my sister and I *don't* want. We want to keep it in the family. Is there *anything* we will be able to do? Or do we just have to watch all that family history slip through our fingers?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

How did the land pass to the children? Was there a probate proceeding? Did your grandmother have a will? If so, do you have a copy of it? How long ago did she pass away?

This is just a thought. West Virginia statutes provide:

§41-3-3. Death of devisee or legatee before testator.
If a devisee or legatee die before the testator, or be dead at the time of making of the will, leaving issue who survive the testator, such issue shall take the estate devised or bequeathed, as the devisee or legatee would have done if he had survived the testator, unless a different disposition thereof be made or required by the will. And if the devise or bequest be made to two or more persons jointly, and one or more of them die without issue, or be dead at the time of the making of the will, the part of the estate so devised or bequeathed to him or them shall not go to the other joint devisees or legatees, but shall, in the case of a devise, descend and pass to the heirs at law, and, in the case of a bequest, go and pass to the personal representative, of the testator, as if he had died intestate, unless the will otherwise provides.

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When the time finally comes (could be many years even though they are in their 80's), do my sister and I have any way to get what our share would have been if my mother had lived?

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even if you had a claim based on what anteater states, time is likely to be a determining limitation to be able to attempt to claim the share. Even if there is a viable claim now, waiting will likely prevent a claim in the future.

Then, if you do somehow overcome any challenges in the way, unless you have the ability to buy out the cousins, there is little you can do to prevent the sale of at least some of the land and depending on the situation in whole, any of the land.

I honestly have no clue as to whether or not my grandmother had a will. She died over 20 years ago. I'm fairly certain she did, though. She was a very responsible and thorough person...and not the least bit crazy. I have no clue about my aunts. That isn't something they would discuss, but I suspect they have wills as well. My cousins already have that information locked down. I'm afraid that the situation may already be hopeless. The thought of having a rather pristene area in the hands of (over)developers makes me ill, moreso some stranger living in the family home. All this stuff is just *so* confusing.

If the property was directed per a will, that would remove any claim you thought you might have had as long as the directions of the will resulted in the situation we have today.

You can research her will and the probate of the will via the court records. There should be a file in the court records. It is public record. It is likely in the county of the state of her residence in whatever court oversees probate of estates.

Yep, if you have any hope of accomplishing anything, you need to find out how the property passed to your aunts. And while you are digging up information at the probate court, check whatever department keeps land records in the county. There is always the possibility that your aunts did nothing and the property is still in grandmother's name. That should not happen, but it does.

If there was a probate and you get a copy of the will, you need to read it closely to see if there were any provisions covering the possibility of one of the beneficiaries predeceasing your grandmother. If there is language indicating that the descendants of a predeceased beneficiary would take that beneficiary's share or there is no language at all covering the possibility, then you need to have a consult with a probate/estate attorney to see if there is anything that can be done 20 years later.

Ahh... A place to start! I didn't realize that records of wills and such were kept as public record. Maybe I can see the intentions of my great grandmother and great grandfather as well. Maybe if there is some evidence that the intention was for their direct decendants to all keep it, there could be a chance? Of course after a few generations something like that wouldn't be practical. We (my sister and I) are probably not going to be able to do anything, but at least I'll know that we did our best. <shrug> I've got a place to start. That's a lot more than I had earlier. My thanks to you both!