Land trust

[Michael8838]

What is the name of your state? Nebraska

I will try to be brief. Let me appologize in advance for any mistakes in legaleese that I am sure to make. I am married to a woman who has land placed in a trust by her grandfather naming her and her siblings as beneficiaries of a land trust. Her grandfather is deceased and the trust names her father as its executor. Her father was re-married years ago and his wife brought several more siblings with her into the family. They were married well after her grandfather's death and are not relevant to the trust. From what my wife knows of the trust, a small portion of the land was willed to her father and excluded from the rest of the land in the trust. This is the land his home, outbuildings, etc. are on.

A few years ago we were informed by her Dad and step mom that we needed to start claiming on our income taxes the amount of money earned off what would be her cut of the land, although we don't actually see any revenue from any of it. This was apparently triggered by my wife's youngest sibling reaching a certain age, though I am not exactly clear on the whole thing. We simply receive a schedule K-1 (I think) from the IRS telling how much income to claim. Which I guess is fine and really doesn't bother me much.

Here's the thing though. A couple months ago her step-mom told her that she and my wife's dad wanted to have a meeting with all the beneficiaries over what to do with the land. But, she didn't want any spouces or 'significant others' present, although she (step mom) would be. I told my wife no way. So, here recently we received a letter from her dad detailing what the 2005 taxes on the land would be, what the payment on the land was, and the amount earned on the land was. Turns out the taxes + payment were more than the amount earned. Now this is a fourth generation farm so the only payments on it would be second mortgage(s) he had taken out as executor. In fact, an online search with the register of deeds showed several, though I could be reading some of this information wrong. So he is requesting that the beneficiaries make up the difference, with the implication that the farm could be lost if we don't. Now the difference is really negligeable - less than 500. And our tab would be less than 100.

So, what is our best course of action? Should we pay the money and call it a day? But, at what point do we start demanding some disclosure on exactly how much money is borrowed against the land, and for what purposes? (starting a huge s**t storm of course) What would the motivation be for wanting a meeting concerning something so important without spouces of the beneficiaries present (aka family)?

Any advice would be enormously appriciated.