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Angel703 · May 16, 2007, 01:17 PM

My husband passed away in September, he owned a dairy farm jointly with his two brothers. He did not leave a will. I have retained a lawyer, and so have his brothers, we are trying to work out and agreement as to how the farm will be divided. It is my understanding that me, and my two daughter will inherit my husbands part of the farm. But since his death his older brother has also passed away, my question is this, his brother left no will and has no children or wife, who should inherit his portion of the farm? I have been told now it will go to his father, who has had no connection to the farm at all for many years, instead to the younger brother and myself, and my daughters. My father in law and mother in law ( who is deceased) were divorced over 30 years ago and he was paid his portion of the farm then in their settlement, and has not had any connection to the farm since. Shouldn't ownership of farm now belong to the brother, myself and my daughters. I would really appreciate your opinion about this situation.

ebaines · May 16, 2007, 01:47 PM

The problems of dying without a will...

It's good that you have an attorney, because he should be able to answer your questions. But in general, if you die without a will then the disposition of the estate is driven by the law of your state. The specifics depend upon the state, but in many (most?) when the husband passes away without a will the estate goes to the surviving wife. If a man dies without a spouse or children, in many states the estate gets split between the parents. That seems to be what's happening in the case of your deceased brother-in-law. Sorry to say that there is virtually no discretion to deviate from the law on this - the way the state looks at it is that if it your brother-in-law wanted his estate to go to someone other than his father he would have had a will. But all may not be lost -- perhaps you can strike a deal with the his father to buy him out, or perhaps convince him to put a provision in his will to pass it to you or your kids upon his death.

Here's a calculator that is helpful at seeing how the rules work in each state:

MyStateWill.com : Intestacy Calculators show what happens without a will