My brother is still alive and in ICU, but his lungs and heart are on a machine that is keeping him alive. His heart stopped for 15 minutes on Sunday and his doctors have been doing tests to see if there is any brain activity. This is day three, and they want one more day to make sure. I don't know what happens next, but he is listed as Do Not Resuscitate, and we all feel it would be better to pull the plug then keep him alive as a vegetable. He is 55 years old, and his drinking is what has led to this.
He has a 40 acre farm near Mabank TX. He has polled Herford's and he raises mallards for hunting clubs. I've spent the last two days going through his house and shop, looking for valuables, bills, papers and documents. He does not have kids or a wife. My parents will inherit everything.
We've never done this before, so I'm hoping for some advice or direction. Nothing legal, just things that we should look into or think about.
He was always in debt with multiple credit cards. What happens to that debt when he passes? Can they put a lien on his land? How do they collect what is owed on the credit cards?
The house on his land is inhabitable. He lived like a vagrant to some degree. One room had walls, a ceiling and a floor. The house needs to be torn down before we sell the land. We are unsure what he owes on the land. I haven't found anything that looks like a mortgage book. His laptop is password protected. Is there a way to get around a password on a laptop?
He has a Cannon 80 gun safe with an electric keypad. If I cannot find a password for it someplace, I can get it open with a grinder, but I'm also willing to try something else if anybody has a suggestion?
From what I've found so far, he leased his truck for 2 years, then financed it. I don't know what he owes or if he's been making payments. Any thoughts on what to do? I don't need or want another truck, neither do my parents. I'm thinking about letting them reposes it, but I need to know what he owes and if there is any value in selling it.
He has 5 trailers. I've found a note for one of them for about $2,000 What happens if it's not paid? do they reposes trailers?
Most of his stuff will end up here and become part of my farm. Tools and equipment type of stuff. His animals will have to be sold, and I've never sold cattle or ducks. Neighbors have stopped by while I was there and I think I can find a home for the cattle. Nobody wants his ducks. There are more then 200 of them that I'm feeding every day. Once it's official, I'm going to contact the people that where buying his ducks and see if I can make a deal to get rid of all of them at one time. If that doesn't work, I'm open to suggestions or ideas?
If we decide to hold onto the land as an investment, what's involved in leasing it to a neighbor to run cattle on?
Is there anybody on here from the Mabank area that knows a good realtor that I can contact? I know a lot of realtors in my area, but they are an hour away from my brothers farm and I don't trust them to know that market.
Another option would be to split it up and sell separate lots, or build spec homes on 5 or ten acres, sell that, then do it again and again until it's all sold. I'm not excited about this because it's so far away, and I already have enough work to keep me busy. If we held onto the land for awhile, I might have more time to do this and the market might be better by then.
If you can think of something that I should consider, please feel free to make those suggestions. We're flying blind right now.
Thank you,
Eddie
