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mikebarr · May 25, 2011, 08:18 PM

We have a cousin that has been missing for years. He owns some family land and leased the land around his house (on the land)for cattle and also the farming to another person. This person has continued to run cattle and farm the land. The closest living relative to the missing relative is his mother who is 93 and in a nursing home. We are very interested in keeping the land in the family. What are our rights? What are the persons right who runs the cattle and farms the land. We have found out that this person has paid the property taxes the past few years. The relative has been missing long enough to be declared dead. No improvement have been made to the property by the leasee. He has made money off the land by farming and running cattle.

AK lawyer · May 25, 2011, 11:16 PM

So if you have looked into the presumptive death statute in your state, and know about how this is done, the other thing you would do is file a probate petition, get appointed personal representative, and, when appointed, either evict the person or get him to pay you the rent owed.

ScottGem · May 26, 2011, 03:58 AM

The original lease remains in effect until the owner has been declared deceased. So he is not a squatter. Paying the property taxes will probably not get him ownership, but he may have to be reimbursed for them.

joypulv · May 26, 2011, 05:50 AM

How are you defining 'long enough to be declared dead' and how many are the 'few years' that the tenant has paid taxes for (not when did he start)?
It isn't as easy as you might think to go totally missing, even after death. If he's about 73, he could be in a VA home or nursing home or prison or some other locatable place. Is he a veteran? Start there!
There are PIs who claim 100% success rate at finding people. That would be the first thing I would do, along with asking his mother if she has written a will. She would probably be the one to inherit if he had no will and if you do manage to have him declared dead. Of course she might die before that happens, so you also need to find out your state order of 'intestate distribution' when there is no will. That is, if no will of his turns up. He might turn up. Life is full of surprises.

mikebarr · May 26, 2011, 08:11 AM

I like what you are saying. Where did your information come from, others have a very different take on the situation.

mikebarr · May 26, 2011, 08:14 AM

He has been missing close to 20 years. He left the country in a hurry when he became a suspect in a murder case. He had working in Central America and family assumed he went to Central America. No one has heard or seen him since he left. Per his mother, who he was not close to, there is no will.

ScottGem · May 26, 2011, 09:23 AM

First, if you have a follow-up question or info, please use the Answer options not Comments.

Its standard law. A lease remains in effect except for rental fee and term as long as neither party cancels it. The death of one party would cancel it.

joypulv · May 26, 2011, 09:35 AM

Leaving the country for 20 years doesn't mean he's dead, and if he stops paying his taxes (you don't know when he stopped?), the town usually puts a lien on the land and auctions it off after some number of years. The tenant paying the taxes is probably going to make it difficult to have your cousin declared dead. And if you do manage to get him declared dead, the property still goes to his nearest kin in the order defined by the state.