Clarification of "Equal Distribution of Property"

[acdcloy]

What is the name of your state? Georgia

If a will states there is to be 'equal distribution' of property and nothing is specifically left to any one person, how do you clear up a disagreement?

Brothers (married with children) - we'll say Jim, Joe & John - are the ones who will equally divide property - they each ask for a couple things they want and it's agreed upon. One of the brothers, Jim, asks for & receives a particular item - we'll say a pig. Several years later, after Jim has made a decision that Joe & John don't agree with (completely unrelated to the will or anything that has to do with the family). At that point, Joe & John decide to say that the pig should have gone to someone that Jim isn't willing to give it to; he received it upon mutual agreement at the time and it was his to do with what he wanted. Joe & John have now decided that they want the pig back or they each want 1/3 of the value of the pig; and, they will take him to court to get it.

Will this hold up? If the verbiage states 'equal distribution' (pig never mentioned, Jim, Joe, John never named), then how do you determine who is the rightful owner and what should have happened with what? Joe & John have contacted their attorney, as has Jim, but since the is the initial stages, I'm just curious as to if this is even a viable case?

Thanks!

[anteater]

Originally Posted by acdcloy

What is the name of your state? Georgia

If a will states there is to be 'equal distribution' of property and nothing is specifically left to any one person, how do you clear up a disagreement?

Brothers (married with children) - we'll say Jim, Joe & John - are the ones who will equally divide property..... Several years later....

Joe & John have contacted their attorney, as has Jim, but since the is the initial stages....

Thanks!

I feel like I am in a time warp, what with all the tenses being tossed out here. I guess this has not happened yet, eh? Or has it? Is the deceased actually deceased?

When the time comes, the deceased's will will be probated and someone will be appointed by the court to be the administrator/personal representative of the estate. That person will have the obligation to carry out the wishes expressed in the will. If the Swine Brothers can not come to an agreement upon what constitutes equal distribution of tangible assets, the administrator will likely say, "The heck with it...", sell the assets, and distribute the proceeds equally. If the Swine Brothers do come to an agreement about distribution of the tangible assets, they will be signing on the dotted line that they are satisfied with the distribution, the probate case will be concluded, and they will live happily ever after.

[acdcloy]

I feel like I'm in a time warp too and it's ridiculous that this is on-going...

Four years ago, Father Swine died. Mother Swine still living, but in a nursing home complete incompetent (as she has been for over 10 years). She died this month; hence the reason the will and such is being brought up again. At the time the father died, the goods were equally distributed.

I didn't know about the whole probate part of the equation; I guess I need to find out if that happened. Is that standard procedure - does it always happen?

[acdcloy]

Just did a little reading on probating a will...

"The process of probating a will is the formal process by which the Probate Court determines a document has been proved to be the last will and testament of the decedent and officially appoints the executor or some other person to handle the distribution of the decedent's property."

So, what if the Executor is one of the brothers? Are there options for getting a court appointed Mediator? And, since this technically happened four years ago with the death of the father, is it still legitimate today?

Bottom line - is this something that is a viable case if the brothers decide to argue it?

[seniorjudge]

If y'all disagree on the distribution of property (real, personal, mixed) then the court will order the whole bunch sold and you will split the dough equally.

[acdcloy]

Is it standard procedure that a will be probated?

One of the brothers is the Executor of the will - does that mean that he will have should have say over what goes where?

Another variable - the will is a joint will, Father dies 4 years ago (and the propoerty was divided at that time with no argument or misunderstanding); Mother (who has been incompetent and in a facility for the past 15 years) just died this month - which is the reason all of this is resurfacing.

[anteater]

Considering your degree of knowledge about the situation and that the probate process was a surprise, I would speculate that Father's estate was not probated. The Swine Brothers just got together and said:

"Jimmy, you get the sows. Joey, you get the piglets. And, Johnny, you get the meat grinder."

That about the size of it?

Now, if everybody was willing to live happily ever after with that result, "minor" details like legally transferring ownership through probate might never arise. So, let's say that Joe and John go to court. An attorney who knows Georgia law would have to get an exact answer. But, my guess is that it would go something like this:

The Judge: "Let me get this straight. Your father died four years ago and you boys just divvied stuff up? Now, a couple of you boys are ticked and want me to order some sort of do-over? Jimmy, you have no legal right to the pig. Joey and Johnny, you don't either. Get your butts out of my courtroom and go down the hallway to the Probate Court and do it right!."

I don't know Georgia specifically, but most state statutes allow a fair amount of leniency concerning the time allowed to open probate after someone has passed away. Any interested party can challenge the nomiation of an Executor made in the will. The court decides and appoints.

[seniorjudge]

Originally Posted by acdcloy

Is it standard procedure that a will be probated?

One of the brothers is the Executor of the will - does that mean that he will have should have say over what goes where?

Another variable - the will is a joint will, Father dies 4 years ago (and the propoerty was divided at that time with no argument or misunderstanding); Mother (who has been incompetent and in a facility for the past 15 years) just died this month - which is the reason all of this is resurfacing.

If a will is not probated, then it is just a worthless piece of paper.

The fact that it is a "joint will" shows that whoever drew it up didn't know much. Joint wills are generally a lousy way to do things.

[anteater]

Originally Posted by acdcloy

Is it standard procedure that a will be probated?

One of the brothers is the Executor of the will - does that mean that he will have should have say over what goes where?

Another variable - the will is a joint will, Father dies 4 years ago (and the propoerty was divided at that time with no argument or misunderstanding); Mother (who has been incompetent and in a facility for the past 15 years) just died this month - which is the reason all of this is resurfacing.

Oh boy! Some attorney is going to be able to pay another year's tuition at Georgia Tech.

In other words, if the brothers don't come to their senses and play nice together, other folks are going to receive a nice benefit.

(I assume that this is over something more valuable than just a pig?)

[acdcloy]

You're exactly right about how it happened! Probably in about those same terms...hand in pockets, looking down at the dirt on their boots, standing by the pig sty with a toothpick in their mouth.

They each went their separate ways, maintained contact as necessary. Now that someone left the gate open again, Joey & Jimmy decide they didn't like what Johhny did with the meat grinder that he got four years ago. So, they're going to put on their hats, march down to the big law-yer man's office to demand he git it back!

So, is the probate process (in this instance) something that would benefit from having legal representation?

Stupid thing is, this is only about 1 pig in the will - not the whole freaking farm!

[anteater]

Originally Posted by acdcloy

....So, is the probate process (in this instance) something that would benefit from having legal representation?

If the boys were civil and agreeable, then they might be able to make do without legal representation. Or just hire an attorney on an hourly basis to guide and review for the legal formalities. But, if the pitchforks are out... well... the attornies are going to stash away a lot of bacon.

Stupid thing is, this is only about 1 pig in the will - not the whole freaking farm!

Unfreakinbelievable! Make that "Unoinkinbelievable!"

[lwpat]

I understand that GA farmers do sometimes get very attached to their pigs.

[acdcloy]

OK, so a further question about these pigs in question and their slop...

I just pulled the will and found that the value of the land owned and the home was to be split equally among the Swine brothers. I have since found out that there was a private appraiser that determined the value (hired by Swine Brother #1) and that the value of the home was split, but not the value of the land (by far the most valuable part)...if/when these guys decide to take this to auction, is this something that can still be argued? I guess, now that this whole load of crap has come to fruition, can they bring up everything that was wronged?

Thanks for all of your advice and support - you know farmin' is complicated stuff for the hicks in the hills of the South!

Oh,and yes - it's over something more valuable than a side for pancakes! But, not very much - they're just arguing for the sheer fact to make each angry at this point (in my opinion).

[seniorjudge]

Originally Posted by acdcloy

OK, so a further question about these pigs in question and their slop...

I just pulled the will and found that the value of the land owned and the home was to be split equally among the Swine brothers. I have since found out that there was a private appraiser that determined the value (hired by Swine Brother #1) and that the value of the home was split, but not the value of the land (by far the most valuable part)...if/when these guys decide to take this to auction, is this something that can still be argued? I guess, now that this whole load of crap has come to fruition, can they bring up everything that was wronged?

Thanks for all of your advice and support - you know farmin' is complicated stuff for the hicks in the hills of the South!

When did all this happen?

[acdcloy]

The father died 4 years ago - which is when the property was divided. THe mother died this month - which is the reason all of this was brought back to the surface.

And, correction to my earlier post about a 'joint will' - they were not joint, but identical in wording.