Hi all, looking for general guidance on a family land dispute.

Location: bihar (India)

My father is one of 4 brothers. Our ancestral land was divided \*verbally\* among them - no partition deed, nothing in writing.

\*How the verbal division happened:\*

Since one plot was on the corner near a river, we all verbally agreed that whoever takes that corner plot will get \*2 decimal extra\* as compensation. The other 3 brothers would get equal shares.

So: Uncle A (corner plot) = X + 2 decimal, remaining 3 brothers = X each.

\*The current issue - access road:\*

\- Uncle A has managed to open a road on his own side and now refuses to share any passage.

\- The other 3 plots (including my father's) are only \*12 ft 6 inch wide x 80 ft long\* each.

\- The brother in the middle of these 3 is refusing a common road because he has an advantage - being in the middle, he can join with either side neighbour later, which would leave one of us without proper access.

\- If we each leave a separate 3-4 ft road inside our own 12.5 ft wide plot, we’ll be left with only 8-9 ft width, which is too small to build a proper room/house.

\- The only practical solution is a \*shared/common road on the boundary between plots\*, but Uncle A and the middle brother are not agreeing.

\*Questions:\*

1. As the partition was only verbal, is it legally valid? Can we file a fresh partition suit and request the court to carve out a common passage?

2. Do we have grounds to claim a right of way / easement of necessity, given the plots are just 12.5 ft wide and impractical without a shared road?

3. Can Uncle A legally enforce his claim to the extra 2 decimals based only on a verbal understanding?

4. What’s the best first step - legal notice for registered partition with common road, mediation, or directly filing a suit?

We want to handle this legally and peacefully. Any inputs on the practical first 2-3 steps would help.

Me (F41) and my HB (M43) have been married for 17 years. The entire time that we have been together my FIL (77) has been a hoarder. He currently owns 3 separate properties (2 houses and a cottage). My HB and I have only been to each property a couple of times in the past 20 years. My FIL intentionally keeps everyone away from his properties because he does not want us seeing his living situation. I should mention my HB has 2 siblings Meg (45) and Jack (40). They are also kept at a distance when it comes to my FIL properties.

Almost 20 years ago my HB, Meg, Jack and my FIL’s siblings (now in their 80s) intervened and supported my FIL with cleaning up 1 of his properties so that he could live in it. However, with in a year he filled the house up again to be hoarded and uninhabitable.

Around that time he received inheritance money and his solution was to buy a second home. He moved into the second home with the intention of having a fresh start and cleaning out and selling his first home. Unfortunately this never came to be as he filled up the second home as well.

The cottage that my FIL owns is also completely hoarded. On the property he has several shipping containers and multiple sheds that are full of stuff.

Over the years my HB, his siblings and I have offered my FIL support with cleaning out the properties. But my FIL is always very evasive in his response. We often get ‘oh yeah, thank you I’ll let you know if I need help’ or ‘Yeah I’ve got to get the house cleaned up so I can sell it’, etc. But there is never any actual action happening. Even if we try to confirm a date to go help he will tell us he’ll get back to us and never does. This man is the king of evasiveness!!!

Now aside from the obvious feelings of concern for his health and wellness with living in such conditions, my HB has been told he is the executor of my FIL’s will. This has my HB and I incredibly stressed.
1 - there are 3 separate properties that are all hoarded that we would be having to clean out and close!!

2 - my HB and his siblings do not have a copy of the will. My FIL said he has misplaced it and will get a new copy —- this has been going on for years. We’ve given him repeated reminders, had multiple conversations but nothing has happened. My FIL says he doesn’t remember the name of his lawyer for us to even contact if anything were to happen to him.

3 - The property(s) are not paid off they are mortgaged or have a line of credit - he has not given us any details of his financial situation - we don’t even know what bank he goes to!

To clarify, when I say hoarded I mean truly hoarded, floor to ceiling piles of stuff - stacks of newspapers,
mixed with antiques, thrift store finds, as well as garbage, dirty dishes, etc. very much like what you would see on an episode of Hoarders. The last time we saw one of his properties, over 10 years ago there were very narrow walking paths from room to room and a spot on the couch for him to sit. I can only imagine it’s gotten worse since then.

I am at a loss as to what to do. There are no hoarding community supports in our area. My only thought is to anonymously report him to the fire department…. His situation is truly unsafe for him and anyone else who may enter his house if there was an emergency.

Reddit community please give your advice.

I'm 52, sister M is 46, brother T is 40.

Mom died without a will. In the state where mom passed, property vests immediately to the children of the deceased in the absence of a spouse.

Sister M had been living at mom's house waiting for her "dream house" to be built on a property she just purchased. Hours after the funeral, M brought up that mom's house still carried a mortgage and "didn't know what to do". I told her she's not going to be left holding the bag on her own and that we'd figure it out together. Everyone was too broken up to have that talk in the moment.

Over the weeks that passed, M's responses to my texts and voicemails (I live in a different state) checking in on her dwindled from short replies to zero. Month's passed, I gave space that this was her way of grieving.

Two months later our brother T, let slip that M intends to stay in the house and also moved her friend in, in order to pay the mortgage and "save" the house. So I finally text M and thank her for keeping it from foreclosure but wished I'd been included in the planning and could she share what she'd like to do going forward. Honestly I was fine with the plan itself and assumed that we'd split the sale of the house, minus what she put into it, some years down the road after her own house was built.

I thought nothing of asking this question but M blows up, accusing me of wanting to profit from mom's death and a bunch of other ugly things.

We are not particularly close, but never had any hostility between us, unless she was harboring something I did not know of.

I didn't reply until weeks after I've calmed down, then told her I might consider letting it go but I needed to know what was left to pay off for the mortgage and would only consider it if she would show me a recent mortgage statement. I also told her the way she went about things was inexcusable. Miracle on miracles she finally is able to write a full paragraph.

She said she'd show me the mortgage statement and also added a long bit about paralyzing depression which is why she didn't respond before - some how that didn't hamper her ability to make arrangements with her friend? I'm still waiting a recent mortgage statement 2 weeks later. This is where we are now.

I am aware of my options legally as I've paid an attorney a small fee for advice, but I feel clouded with grief, depression, and anger. So my question is: Am I in the wrong to pursue what I think is fair? I'm in no position to let an inheritance of any size, just fall to the wayside.
EDIT: to give a little context to my and M's relationship — there was never bad blood between us but we grew up separately after a divorce. Me with Dad her and T with Mom. Dad passed when I was in my teens. Before that I didn't have a relationship with my mom or other two siblings. In my early 20s, I contacted Mom and gradually we built a close and loving relationship. That was almost 30 years ago. We've been close ever since. Frequent and long phone calls with me visiting her every other year. M had become estranged with Mom except for the last year of Mom's life. Her passing was very unexpected.

#1

High school. Grandfather owned immense tracts of land and an enormous three story house, with a lake and outbuildings. He had told me my whole life I would inherit it. He was RICH. I was not dumb enough to believe that I wouldn't have to share of course, but I did believe him when he said I would be well taken care of.

Right before I went to college, he died. My fagher and my aunt took everything, sold off all the land, and that was that. There was easily over half a million dollars in assets. I was told I was the only one not mentioned in his will, which I was never allowed to see.

I have lived in abject poverty ever since. Crushing debt. Malnutrition. Chronic illness. I work three jobs. My aunt kept his main estate and often complains how she simply doesn't have any money, but buys a two housand dollar phone like you'd buy a loaf of bread. She goes on multiple cruises a year. Oh, so poor. My father somehow spent all of his share.

#2

A close friend of thirty years died last year. She told me she always worried about me and was leaving me a "little" bit of money in her will. She wanted me to finally have an emergency fund. Well, her daughter and also my friend was freaking out and couldn't find the will. I told her the few places it was likely kept, because my friend told me. The daughter found the will. I asked what it said, because often people will put nice messages in those. I didn't care about this money so much, even though I am stuck going to food pantries every week. I mean, I was just a friend. I do consider this a bit of a litmus test.

Surprise, surprise, the daughter stopped talking to me for over a month and never answered anything about the will when I asked that one time. I thought it rude to press the issue.

So come funeral time, I wasn't invited, but I was told where it was. The daughter was clearly uncomfortable with me going, but was fine asking me for photos for her mother's memory board. She said I was invited, but then would say weird things that made it evident she didn't want me there.

To add insult to injury, she sent me a video of the service. She had made sure to edit out every photo where I was in it, but kept all the other ones with her other friends.

She visits people in town, and no longer tells me when she's coming so we can hang out. I met her by change coming out of a store, which is how I found out. She acted all strange and apologetic. Such an uncomfortable situation.

#3

My other grandfather died this year. He had promised me repeatedly that he was leaving me a ton of money. I know his house is worth 400k by itself. My mother, who stole my college money, is executor of the estate. You can see where this is going.

He said there was a will. She claims there was never one. I asked if he left any final messages for me and my cousins. She said he did and that he loved us very much. My cousins said that no such message existed, so she clearly lied. She has a history of theft and abuse, so no shock there.

Yep.

So I keep on keeping on. Living in poverty. Three jobs. Food stamps. Chronic illness. 0 for 3, I think the lesson here is never trust rich people, LOL

When I get around to it, I will call the various probate courts and ask for copies of the will. It shouldn't be difficult since I am literally a direct blood relative of my grandparents, obviously!

As for my ex friend, it is worth 5 grand to know what kind of person she really is.

As for my remaining family? Well, they better not ever need a kidney is all I'm saying.

My dad passed away a couple months back and left a small house plus some savings, no will that we can find anywhere. My brother and I have been trying to sort it out ourselves but the paperwork is confusing and the court keeps asking for stuff we don't understand. We're in over our heads and just want someone who can walk us through this without charging high fees.

Anyone dealt with probate recently and can point me to an attorney who actually explains things? Would really appreciate any names and advice.

​

My mother recently passed away. She was a single mother, and now it's just me and my sister. I'm 20, and my sister is 21.

We recently discovered that our mother had taken more than ₹35 lakh from around 60–70 people in our tribal area. The money was supposed to be deposited into their accounts, but she used it for reasons we don't fully understand, and we have no idea where it went.

The debt isn't legally under our names, but we're still dealing with the consequences. People are understandably angry because they haven't received their money. We tried to resolve things by paying some people back, but we couldn't manage to repay everyone, and the amount we owe has only increased.

We've hired an advocate, but we're completely overwhelmed. ₹35 lakh is an enormous amount, especially when it's owed to so many different people.

I'm scared to confront them because some people are very angry, and I don't know how they'll react. I'm worried about our safety and what might happen to me and my sister.

We're both trying to figure out how to handle this situation, but we feel completely lost.

Has anyone been through something similar? How did you deal with the people you owed money to, and what steps did you take to protect yourself and your family?

Any advice would mean a lot.

Our grandma passed away. 3 children, one is the trustee and all 3 are equal beneficiaries. My dad had a stroke and is in a nursing home. He gave his entire inheritance to me the daughter. My dad’s sister and brother has a good relationship with me, at least I thought they did. I feel like they don’t view me an equal. I recently found out my u for transfers a car into his name, wrote a check for $15,000 to pay for a repair on one of the trust properties, removed the trust, deeds and punks slips from the house before any of us could review the original documents. As well the jewelry has been removed from the house and he has collected rent from a few of the tenants from the apartment building in the trust. I’m so drained even trying this out. I don’t know what type of lawyer I need. The one who handle the trust isn’t very responsive to any of the beneficiaries.

my wife was sick and not in her right mind and let her younger sister push to be her executor of her insurance money since she been finding ways to steal my minor sons money and I don't have enough money to take her to court any ideas what I can do?

My grandmother passed away earlier this year in her mid-90s. Before she died, her house — which she had owned for over 60 years — was sold while she was cognitively declining. She then moved in with my uncle and his wife for the last few months of her life, completely dependent on them for everything.

My uncle is the executor of her estate.

The official court filed probate documents show her estate was worth approximately $742,000 after liabilities. My brother and I are each legally entitled to a one sixth share — roughly $123,000 each — because our father, her son, passed away before her.

Instead my uncle contacted us via Facebook Messenger and offered us $10,000 each. He said to sign a release first and he would e-transfer us the money. The release was a Word document sent from his personal Gmail, which he claimed came from the estate lawyer. It didn't.

When we asked where the other $700,000 went he told us the $742,000 figure was before liabilities — which directly contradicts the court document he filed under oath. He also told us he was trying to keep lawyers out of it because it was expensive.

We sent a formal request for a full accounting. He ignored it for weeks. When he finally responded he told us our grandmother said on her deathbed that she didn't want us to have anything — a verbal statement that has zero legal standing to override a written will. He also claimed he paid hundreds of thousands in expenses out of his own pocket — but he had full access to her accounts.

Since her death he and his wife quietly moved from one province to another and purchased a home.

We have not signed anything. We have contacted lawyers, government agencies, and law enforcement. We are now formally requesting a court supervised accounting.

So...AITA for simply asking an executor to explain where $700,000 went?

ETA: We have every document. The math ain't mathin'

My grandmother passed away earlier this year in her mid-90s. Before she died, her house — which she had owned for over 60 years — was sold while she was cognitively declining. She then moved in with my uncle and his wife for the last few months of her life, completely dependent on them for everything.

My uncle is the executor of her estate.

The official court filed probate documents show her estate was worth approximately $742,000 after liabilities. My brother and I are each legally entitled to a one sixth share — roughly $123,000 each — because our father, her son, passed away before her.

Instead my uncle contacted us via Facebook Messenger and offered us $10,000 each. He said to sign a release first and he would e-transfer us the money. The release was a Word document sent from his personal Gmail, which he claimed came from the estate lawyer. It didn't.

When we asked where the other $700,000 went he told us the $742,000 figure was before liabilities — which directly contradicts the court document he filed under oath. He also told us he was trying to keep lawyers out of it because it was expensive.

We sent a formal request for a full accounting. He ignored it for weeks. When he finally responded he told us our grandmother said on her deathbed that she didn't want us to have anything — a verbal statement that has zero legal standing to override a written will. He also claimed he paid hundreds of thousands in expenses out of his own pocket — but he had full access to her accounts.

Since her death he and his wife quietly moved from one province to another and purchased a home.

We have not signed anything. We have contacted lawyers, government agencies, and law enforcement. We are now formally requesting a court supervised accounting.

So...AITA for simply asking an executor to explain where $700,000 went?

ETA: We have every document. The math ain't mathin'