What is the name of your state? Kansas
My mom and dad were married 18 years and when they divorced, he signed over ownership of the 250 acre farm they lived on to her. From that time on, only her name has been on the deed to the farm.
My mom remarried yet my step-dad never asked to have his name on the deed and it never was. She actually never really wanted to have his name on it. He got cancer 4 years ago and died in May of 2004. He did not have a will. Believing that there was not an issue regarding the real property, my mom started trying to pay off the debts incurred during the illness and with the operations of a farm. Out of the blue 3 weeks after my step-dad's funeral, my 2 step-brothers filed a claim for their dad's "half of the farm" and other assets.
It went through our district court and the judge ruled that the whole farm belonged to mom (including 2 gas wells, a gas storage lease, and a cell tower lease) and all the other personal property and livestock were to be given to her to use against debts against the estate.
The step-brothers have filed an appeal and now they say they want the farm divided up when my mom dies so that the 2 of them, their sister's children (my step-sister died in 2003), and my natural brother and I would each receive 40 acres of the farm.
My mom has been through so much, she hasn't even hardly had time to grieve. Those boys have been hurtful to their own dad so much that he spouted off he wanted to leave them $1 and no further considerations. My mom needs closure so that she can be at peace. She does not want one blade of grass to belong to anyone outside her family now or after she dies (she's in pretty good health and that could be 20+ years). She did make a will and put my brother and I both on the deed to the farm.
What are her chances? Thanks for letting me put this situation out there. Sorry it was so long. It seems to be a unique situation.
My mom and dad were married 18 years and when they divorced, he signed over ownership of the 250 acre farm they lived on to her. From that time on, only her name has been on the deed to the farm.
My mom remarried yet my step-dad never asked to have his name on the deed and it never was. She actually never really wanted to have his name on it. He got cancer 4 years ago and died in May of 2004. He did not have a will. Believing that there was not an issue regarding the real property, my mom started trying to pay off the debts incurred during the illness and with the operations of a farm. Out of the blue 3 weeks after my step-dad's funeral, my 2 step-brothers filed a claim for their dad's "half of the farm" and other assets.
It went through our district court and the judge ruled that the whole farm belonged to mom (including 2 gas wells, a gas storage lease, and a cell tower lease) and all the other personal property and livestock were to be given to her to use against debts against the estate.
The step-brothers have filed an appeal and now they say they want the farm divided up when my mom dies so that the 2 of them, their sister's children (my step-sister died in 2003), and my natural brother and I would each receive 40 acres of the farm.
My mom has been through so much, she hasn't even hardly had time to grieve. Those boys have been hurtful to their own dad so much that he spouted off he wanted to leave them $1 and no further considerations. My mom needs closure so that she can be at peace. She does not want one blade of grass to belong to anyone outside her family now or after she dies (she's in pretty good health and that could be 20+ years). She did make a will and put my brother and I both on the deed to the farm.
What are her chances? Thanks for letting me put this situation out there. Sorry it was so long. It seems to be a unique situation.
It seems that we can clearly see things that way; I just wonder why the steps attorney can't see it. He keeps saying in different briefs that there was a constructive trust and that mom is committing some kind of fraud.