Inherited farm lease query

Who was working the farm prior to your mother's sad passing?

Consult a solicitor.

So he was farming the land before the death of your mother? From your original post it sounded like she died and he just put cows on the land.

In another post you said he thinks he has an automatic right. Probate hasn't issued and he had permission from title holders so he does have a right. Once probate issues he will own a share and he will still have a right.

Also you seem to think once probate issues that will sort everything out. You should speak to your solicitor about the law of equity. He might be fully entitled to remain on the land.

On what basis will he contest ? Perhaps point out its divided between the family he buy it at auction. If he contests by court tell him all costs will borne by him. Therefore if he loses and it looks like he would the costs could be considerable.

Would your father not have inherited 2/3rds from your mother if she made no will? Chidren would be entitles=d to 1/3 of mothers estate.

If I read it correctly, this brother then inherited 2/3rd of farm from your father?

Can't see this being straightforward at all. Farm, land & buildings in your mother's name. Presumably your father 'married in' as they say? How many years were they married, living & farming here. Was your father mainly working the farm all this time? What money was invested in it and where did it come from? Does anyone know what your mother's views were on who should take over the farm eventually? How much work did your brother do on the farm to help over the years? How much did other siblings contribute? These will be all be factors to greater or lesser extents. That your father survived your mother and left a will is important.

What will happen when ye put mothers farm up for sale and your brother splashes 'no sale family farm 'up on the entrance.Was yer brother working the mothers farm with the home farm .This is some mess and strange your mother had no will .The best ye can hope for would be make a deal with brother to let him keep more then his share and then sell the rest .Highly unlikely he is going to let his share been sold and proper order too!!

If your mother predeceased your father 2/3 of her estate passed automatically to your father and will now make up the residue of the fathers estate. The other 3rd will be split between the children.

Your mother predeceased your father.

Her estate must be resolved first.

This includes inheritance due to your father from your mother under law.

Only then you can commence the distribution of your father's estate as per his will.

The fact that probate hadn't been completed on your mother's estate doesn't alter the fact that your father was entitled to 2/3 of her estate as she died intestate. You seem to be under the impression that her estate can now be distributed with no reference to the father i.e. her farm will be inherited by the four children because the your father is now dead. It doesn't work like that.

Poster phildub has explained how it works in post #29 above. On the disposal of your mother's estate, the four children are entitled to 1/12 each and the remaining 2/3 of her estate will form part of your father's estate. To be disposed of according to his will. But you've told us that the mother's farm was not mentioned in his will. That means it falls into the residue of his estate - was that mentioned in his will? If not, it will be disposed of as if he died intestate and each of you would get 1/4 each of the 2/3 of the farm which your father inherited by her intestacy. Along with the 1/12 you each inherited direct from her estate, that would leave each of you with 1/4 of her farm.

But if the father left the residue of his estate to your brother, he would inherit all of the 2/3 of your mother's farm which was inherited by your father and the other three siblings (incl. you) would be left with 1/12 of the farm each. He would have the 1/12 he inherited direct from the mother, along with the 2/3 bequeathed to him by your father so he would end up with 9/12 or 3/4 of the mother's farm.

Paging John B Keane…

Farmer here and first of sorry that you have all this to go through on top of your parents' deaths. As said my understanding is that two thirds of your mother's estate went to your father on her death automatically. IMO opinion your brother is in a strong position your father owned 2 thirds of this farm ie your mother's land after she died, you said he told your brother to farm it and he did. There is alot been left out as who was insuring it, fencing it etc.

OP, if your father left the residue of his estate to the four of you then it means that your mother's farm will be divided four ways so you will each end up with 1/4.

To be precise, you as an individual will inherit 1/12 direct from your mother's estate (1/4 of 1/3) and 1/6 from your father's estate (1/4 of 2/3). Which adds up to 1/4 (1/12 + 2/12 = 3/12 = 1/4).

Try some sort of a family chat.Farming is tough and little out of it he may feel aggrieved that he slogged away at home and then sisters/brother arrive looking to take farm and get money. The other side is it is very unfair with farms that to keep them viable one person gets all and the rest get the door. Solicitors eat into the value of land like this once a dispute starts and it can destroy families. Probate on your father and then for your mother will be expensive and once any kind of a dispute they will ream it on probate alone.

I paid for the farm I have 2 per cent of the farm value which worked out at €20k for straightforward probate with a will and that was just for probate not include putting land into my name. Figure out what land worth I say average price of 7k an acre depend where etc etc but land is gone back this year from what I see as farming is not making money. Then figure out what it worth to you as your share if no dispute then factor in legal fees etc. Also probate took nearly 2 years for me solicitors are so slow particularly with land as they know they have their fees as the land is there to pay them.

I hope you resolve this but as said try if at all to resolve it yourselves as a family.

Gone With the Wind said it all on Irish attitudes to land "Do you mean to tell me, Katie Scarlett O’Hara, that Tara, that land, doesn’t mean anything to you? Why, land is the only thing in the world worth workin’ for, worth fightin’ for, worth dyin’ for, because it’s the only thing that lasts.”

It’s a night mare. Fact he owns so little means he will unlikely be able to buy it out.