A Commitment

to Each Client.

Heirs and beneficiaries may face property problems

When more than one Illinois resident inherits the same piece of land, problems may arise down the line if all owners do not agree regarding what should happen with the land. Heirs and beneficiaries can run into some serious legal issues if, for instance, not all joint property owners concur that the property should be sold. This is basically what happened in a particular case in another state.

In this instance, a woman and her brother inherited some land. There are also two other owners involved in the property situation. The woman and her husband have been living on the property since she inherited it, just as her father had instructed her to do more than 20 years ago. As she tells it, her father put her on the property and told her never to let anyone make her leave.

This led to a contentious situation when three of the four landowners determined they wanted to sell the property. The woman and her husband tried to secure a bank loan so they could buy the property outright. That plan didn’t work, however, and they wound up launching a GoFundMe request for donations online.

The woman needed at least $30,000 to make the purchase. Fortunately for her and her family, the plan succeeded and they raised more than the needed amount in a little over a week. Heirs and beneficiaries in Illinois sometimes encounter similar complications when disputes flare up when decisions about selling an inherited piece of land are not unanimous. In such cases, it often helps to seek guidance from an experienced estate planning and administration attorney.

Source: islandpacket.com, “Indigo Run helps Native Islander family save heirs’ property“, Alex Kincaid, March 9, 2018

FindLaw Network
LinkedIn
LCA Litigation Counsel of America Fellow
ACTEC The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel
My Estate and Legacy Planner