Divided Land

[db09smu]

My question pertains to some land (~600 acres) that has been passed down in our family for several generations. Currently, I am sure it is divided among hundreds of people, but no person has ever been able to take action with this because of the large amount of divisions, as it has been passed on over and over. It seems as though it would be nearly impossible to locate all of the people to take any actions that I have found plausible so far, such as selling the land & dividing the money, or getting all other persons to sell, or even forcing to them to sell through the legal system.

Is there a way to get this land consolidated so it can be used? What sort of actions need to be taken? I'd hate for this to continue on and on, and the family land be lost altogether. Because the land is fit for oil drilling, would it be wise to take this to an oil company, such as BP (they drilled previously on the land), and see what they can work out with it? Thanks!

[aaron]

How is the land held (titled)? In what state?

[db09smu]

The land is in Colorado. I'm not sure about the titled part. We're still digging up papers on it.

[seniorjudge]

The land is in Colorado. I'm not sure about the titled part. We're still digging up papers on it.

You need to have a partition suit.

The court will sell it on the courthouse steps and divide the profits (if any) to all the titleholders.

Let me guess: This is an Italian family in Boulder County or one of the plains counties near Denver?

[db09smu]

Not quite.. Anyway, we have no desire whatsoever to sell the family property; we would just like to get it consolidated into my grandparents' name. And how is it possible to locate all two to three hundred people who potentially own part of the land (several generations with large families)? Lightly put, that seems ridiculous because we don't know much of our family outside first cousins, etc. There are no other options?

[aaron]

Before anybody can tell you how you might resolve issues of title ownership, you need to find out how the land is titled.

[db09smu]

I'd also like to add that there is no dispute anywhere. Everyone wants the same thing...

[seniorjudge]

I'd also like to add that there is no dispute anywhere. Everyone wants the same thing...

With 300 people involved, I doubt this.

Anyway, have a title company give you a complete title report.

Then go to a good real estate lawyer.

There may be several alternatives.

[db09smu]

What I meant was, as far as everyone knows, just a few of us even know about it. We're assuming the other hundreds of people don't know, and as a result, they have no dispute as of yet. Thanks for your advice, everyone. I appreciate it. I'll get back to this post when I can figure out how the land is titled.