The Daily Peeve / Rant

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Originally Posted by iris lilies

Yes it’s a partition lawsuit. But what do I have to “ lose” in this action?

I would think that if I really have something to lose, I can dispense with any risk by signing a quit claim deed which gets me out of any interest in the property. I think. I’m not willing to do that though.

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Makes sense.

IL, what a mess!!

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Originally Posted by iris lilies

My opinion is that DH and his siblings are devaluing a significant asset by breaking up land. In my opinion, every parcel that is removed from this family farm devalues the rest of it because much value is in adjacent pieces. How much is being devalued I do not know, that’s intangible and there’s no way I could put a price on it. As it currently stands, for those who are curious, our household’s share is worth $250,000 according to today’s farm prices.

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Benefits of breaking up the land............
You don't have to keep badgering that one relative for their part of the property taxes, while everyone else has to cover it.
You have clear ownership, without family hindrance on, do you want to build, farm, hunt, orchards, tree farm, etc. You can give permission or restrict family from coming onto the property, where you can't, if it is joint.

Uhm, what were the negatives?

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Originally Posted by iris lilies

Since I have no authority or direct responsibility for this property, I’m not gonna worry about it. I’m going to go back to my original mindset about this family issue which is “not my circus, not my monkeys, I can have an opinion but it doesn’t matter.”

My opinion is that DH and his siblings are devaluing a significant asset by breaking up land. In my opinion, every parcel that is removed from this family farm devalues the rest of it because much value is in adjacent pieces. How much is being devalued I do not know, that’s intangible and there’s no way I could put a price on it. As it currently stands, for those who are curious, our household’s share is worth $250,000 according to today’s farm prices.

but if DH wants to devalue his asset for emotional reasons, he gets to do that. It is his asset. As I previously stated he will not be using any of our joint funds however to pay an attorney or any court costs. Those bills will have to come out of his IRA. Our joint funds ARE my circus, my monkeys.

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So, why do they want to break up the land? Autonomy? Cash-out? How much land does each person get? At $250k, is that enough land for a small farm? Would partitioning it make it vulnerable to a sibling selling to a developer? Just curious.

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Originally Posted by ToomuchStuff

Benefits of breaking up the land............
You don't have to keep badgering that one relative for their part of the property taxes, while everyone else has to cover it.
You have clear ownership, without family hindrance on, do you want to build, farm, hunt, orchards, tree farm, etc. You can give permission or restrict family from coming onto the property, where you can't, if it is joint.

Uhm, what were the negatives?

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haha, Well, to answer your specific points: this is prime Iowa farmland going for nearly $10,000/acre. No one is going to hunt or build on it. The part with the house and out buildings and a couple acres was already sliced off and sold to the youngest brother, it was low in value.

The reason for not breaking up the land that I could justify is that every time you pull a piece of it out, that devalues the rest of it.

Farmland is up something like 20% over a year ago because corn is high.

but overall the sibling who is suing does not want to be in partnership with her other siblings and I don’t really blame her actually. Even though she likes provoking conflict and etc., there is no reason to continue this farm as a family business. It is about feelings, emotions, more feelings and more emotions. Logic doesn’t enter into it.

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Originally Posted by catherine

So, why do they want to break up the land? Autonomy? Cash-out? How much land does each person get? At $250k, is that enough land for a small farm? Would partitioning it make it vulnerable to a sibling selling to a developer? Just curious.

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Much answered above to Toomuchstuff, but any parcel sliced out by a judge as a result of this lawsuit, a $250,00 slice, is nowhere near enough for one’s person’s farm. And it is not “hobby farm” parcel due to road access, far away from any city of size, and basically just too valuable for hobby farm foolishness.

But that isn’t how this stuff happens anyway, it is common for a slice of land to be annexed to a nearby farm usually corporate owned.

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Originally Posted by iris lilies

But that isn’t how this stuff happens anyway, it is common for a slice of land to be annexed to a nearby farm usually corporate owned.

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Yuck. I hope it works out for the family in the best possible way.

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Originally Posted by iris lilies

Much answered above to Toomuchstuff, but any parcel sliced out by a judge as a result of this lawsuit, a $250,00 slice, is nowhere near enough for one’s person’s farm. And it is not “hobby farm” parcel due to road access, far away from any city of size, and basically just too valuable for hobby farm foolishness.

But that isn’t how this stuff happens anyway, it is common for a slice of land to be annexed to a nearby farm usually corporate owned.

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So what would you like to see happen to the land as a whole? The house and outbuildings and a couple of acres sold to the brother--if the land is sold to a corporate owned conglomerate, then he has no place to farm anymore, right? Wasn't he farming it for years and still is, but now the farm is a family business? Or do I have that right?

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Originally Posted by Tybee

So what would you like to see happen to the land as a whole? The house and outbuildings and a couple of acres sold to the brother--if the land is sold to a corporate owned conglomerate, then he has no place to farm anymore, right? Wasn't he farming it for years and still is, but now the farm is a family business? Or do I have that right?

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I do not care what happens to it. It is an income producing asset. It is not a Century farm that spent centuries in this family, DH’s parents bought it several decades ago. Had DH’s mother lived after their father she definitely would have sold it and gone to Switzerland, that was her stated plan.

the brother has a full time business that is NOT farming. His father already fed him a lot of stuff and $$$ in free equipment and outright loans that we assume were never repaid. The brother got the homestead (which he doesnt even live in…it is vacant) for an entirely reasonable price. The brother is 50+ years old and on his second round of cancer treatment for serious stuff. He “got his” more-than fair share. He uses the homestead for goats and to store farm equipment.

oh yes “corporate” farming is bad so bad, yawn. Whether it’s my father-in-law’s own operation or the corporate guys, they all use large swaths of agrichemicals and grow the same stuff. The distinction is not of interest to me.

Here's my family's centennial farm:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_...yant_Farmstead