That would have been so great to witness.
quote:Well, as an East Texas boy myself, that explains a lot.
I thought it was a roast so I took the microphone first and just absolutely embarrassed the guy and had the whole place rolling. He wasn't laughing.
...
This property is in rural east Texas.
quote:
He's a damn sneaky lawyer at that. When he did the paperwork he cut out the 50' strip giving him access to another county road on the back side of his place. He also gave himself a first right of refusal to buy the place if we ever decide to sell it. And get this: the first right of refusal is at the original purchase price 20 years ago. This is his claim anyways (when I threatened to sell the place 10 years ago he laid that gem on me). So while doing all the legal work for the transaction he gave himself about 2 acres of land (50' X a quarter mile or so) and a FROR at the original purchase price. He's a real winner. An Ag too. If you can believe it
quote:Who gets to kick who? I can just picture the wrath of a proud old man who got absolutely roasted by a son in law.
I think the relationship has degraded to the point where a swift kick in the balls ought to be the next step.
quote:It probably never should have gotten as far as it did. A lot of hubris on both sides is the only explanation for it to have gotten to this point.
Bad situation. If your wife loves her dad, you should extend the olive branch.
quote:Or he's a grumpy old f*** who thinks he can do whatever he wants anywhere/anytime.
If he's a lawyer, he probably knew he could do it. May not be a good idea to get in a legal fight
quote:I wonder if it might constitute "Unjust enrichment".quote:
He's a damn sneaky lawyer at that. When he did the paperwork he cut out the 50' strip giving him access to another county road on the back side of his place. He also gave himself a first right of refusal to buy the place if we ever decide to sell it. And get this: the first right of refusal is at the original purchase price 20 years ago. This is his claim anyways (when I threatened to sell the place 10 years ago he laid that gem on me). So while doing all the legal work for the transaction he gave himself about 2 acres of land (50' X a quarter mile or so) and a FROR at the original purchase price. He's a real winner. An Ag too. If you can believe it
I'm not sure he can structure a right of first refusal in that manner. I'd like to see those documents.
quote:OP clarified earlier the value he is looking for is the lumber value and not the aesthetic value.
Wow, just wow.
First, there is a lot of questionable legal advice in this thread without a lot of facts. "ROW" is not necessarily synonymous with easement but determining the terms of any such agreement is the first question. BG is probably on the right track with his original answer but without more details there could be numerous other issues. My only caveat would be on valuation. It is possible (even likely) he has the right to clear the trees from the easement in order to build a road. In that case the value would basically be their salvage value as opposed to some astronomical number suggested by many others.
Second, you need to figure out with your wife if this is a fight you want to have. It sounds like things are pretty sour already, but it is possible things could go completely nuclear pretty quick depending on your next move.
quote:Thank you Boerne. Could not have said it any better myself. I'm not the suing type. I'm not going to take anyone to court. I just wanted to know how much money 6-8 200+ year old oak trees are worth at the lumber mill. I'll just wait for the old man to die and then sell the place. Now if it turns out he stole the trees from me, then I will have to try and address that with him. My wife is on my side of this deal. I'll look for the original paperwork tomorrow and update here if there's anything substantial to report. I live overseas and the file may be locked deep in a storeroom until I get home in three years. But it's possible I brought it with me. I'll know tomorrow.
The implication is that the 50' RoW is an easement on the OP's property, but the OPs not looking for a squabble, nor advice on how to "get even". He just seems to want to know what (if any) compensation is coming to him if indeed the FiL acted legally, if not "neighborly".
If 'push comes to shove', I believe OP can defeat the RoFR price "lock-in", in a courtroom, should it come to that.
quote:That was more than implied.
No.... the implication is that grandpa is an asshat ...
quote:If you wait until he dies to sell the place, you have to worry about whether he might have been able to will that right of first refusal to someone else.quote:Thank you Boerne. Could not have said it any better myself. I'm not the suing type. I'm not going to take anyone to court. I just wanted to know how much money 6-8 200+ year old oak trees are worth at the lumber mill. I'll just wait for the old man to die and then sell the place. Now if it turns out he stole the trees from me, then I will have to try and address that with him. My wife is on my side of this deal. I'll look for the original paperwork tomorrow and update here if there's anything substantial to report. I live overseas and the file may be locked deep in a storeroom until I get home in three years. But it's possible I brought it with me. I'll know tomorrow.
The implication is that the 50' RoW is an easement on the OP's property, but the OPs not looking for a squabble, nor advice on how to "get even". He just seems to want to know what (if any) compensation is coming to him if indeed the FiL acted legally, if not "neighborly".
If 'push comes to shove', I believe OP can defeat the RoFR price "lock-in", in a courtroom, should it come to that.
Here's another beef I'm having. What if one of the trees was at 54' instead of 50'. Now that's thievery in my book. Someone took an orange spray can and hit some trees along the line to demark the clearing line. I'm not sure if he did that or the lumber man did it.
Last beef is this. Just to add insult to injury, all the excess limbs were thrown on my side of the 50' line. On my property. Who's going to clean that up? I think I'll just bend over and ask for another m
quote:We thought about that exact implication. Is it possible that he could pass it on to someone else? Surely not.
If you wait until he dies to sell the place, you have to worry about whether he might have been able to will that right of first refusal to someone else.