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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
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    Default Owner Deeded Property to Someone with Our Personal Property Still on the Land

    My question involves personal property located in the State of: Missouri
    My mother deeded some property from our family farm over to my brother after my dad died. We owned some decorative fence that was on that property. We had borrowed some portable gates from my brother and we had asked if he wanted to trade us the portable gates for the fence on the property. At this time, the property was not in my brother's name but still in my mom's name. He finally said he did not want to trade and told us to come get the fence. Before we could go get the fence, his wife told us the land had been put in their name and to never step foot on their property again. She had already called the cops on me to try and get me thrown off the property one time before they even owned it so therefore we have not went to the property again.

    Now, they have sent us a certified letter from an attorney demanding the portable gates back along with something else that does not even belong to them (that's a whole other story) and threatening to sue if we don't return the gates. I don't have a problem returning the gates but we want our fence back (it's valued at over $4,000.00). I believe my sister-in-law planned this thinking that they could sue to get their gates back and then also keep the fence. We borrowed the gates from my brother a couple of years ago but the land transfer and the lawsuit threat just happened a few weeks ago. Everyone involved including my mother knew we owned that fence. We also have a few other items still on their property but the fence is the most valuable. This fence is decorative fence that can be removed as a matter of fact they have already taken down a portion of the fence themselves.

    Our family situation has gotten completely hostile since my dad died a year ago. My brother, sister-in-law, and my sister have completely taken advantage of my mom and gotten her to deed them almost half the family farm leaving my other brother with nothing and completely alienating my family including my children. We had also asked my mom to please notify us BEFORE she deeded the property to my brother & sister-in-law but she did not. She has kept everything hidden from my one brother and I on purpose since my dad died. We also have some fencing panels still on the land my sister received too. She's just as hostile as my sister-in-law so I'm sure we'll have to sue to get that back too. What are our legal rights? Can we countersue to get the fence back?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
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    38,867

    Default Re: Owner Deeded Property to Someone with Our Personal Property Still on the Land

    was this fence installed, like in posts in the ground and all or was it piled up somewhere?
    did you purchase and install the fence or gain ownership in some other fashion?

  3. #3
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    Nov 2013
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    Default Re: Owner Deeded Property to Someone with Our Personal Property Still on the Land

    Quote Quoting jk
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    was this fence installed, like in posts in the ground and all or was it piled up somewhere?
    did you purchase and install the fence or gain ownership in some other fashion?
    The posts are in the ground but it's that vinyl decorative fence so it's easily removed and setup somewhere else. We purchased it and installed the fence on my dad's property because we were using the property at that time for business purposes and it enhanced the property. Everybody in the family knew it was our fence and we just left it there because there was no reason to move it and everybody used the property - it was a family farm (however, owned by my parents).

  4. #4
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    Jan 2006
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    Default Re: Owner Deeded Property to Someone with Our Personal Property Still on the Land

    well, one problem you have is;

    once a fence is planted in the ground, it becomes what is called a fixture and as such, part of the land it is attached to. Unless you can prove an agreement with your mother that you were to retain ownership of the fence, it wasn't yours the minute yo put it up. If you can prove such an agreement, and you can prove the now owner was aware of it, you may be able to enforce your claim of ownership.

    If you do not have the support of your mother in this, it is likely a lost cause. If you cannot prove your brother having knowledge of the fence ownership being retained by you, it becomes an even more problematic issue where you might end up having to go after your mother for the value of the fence (and when you are speaking of damages, you are talking about the value of a used fence, not the cost to purchase it new)

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
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    Default Re: Owner Deeded Property to Someone with Our Personal Property Still on the Land

    Note that all that discussion with your mother has SQUAT to do with the issues before you with the buyer whose property you STOLE. As JK points out, those things were fixtures and were validly deeded to the buyer. You had no right to remove them. You might (and this is a BIG MIGHT) have some claim against your mother, but you need to undo the DAMAGE you have done to the buyer.

  6. #6
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    Sep 2005
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    Default Re: Owner Deeded Property to Someone with Our Personal Property Still on the Land

    From my read of the posts, the fence is still in place.

  7. #7
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    Nov 2013
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    Default Re: Owner Deeded Property to Someone with Our Personal Property Still on the Land

    Quote Quoting flyingron
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    Note that all that discussion with your mother has SQUAT to do with the issues before you with the buyer whose property you STOLE. As JK points out, those things were fixtures and were validly deeded to the buyer. You had no right to remove them. You might (and this is a BIG MIGHT) have some claim against your mother, but you need to undo the DAMAGE you have done to the buyer.
    We did not STEAL any property. We have not taken down any of the white fence - my brother and sister-in-law have done that to make room for some other fencing they put up. None of the white fence has been taken off their property. The portable gates we borrowed from them was by mutual agreement and were already in our possession when the land was deeded into their name. I have every intention of returning their portable gates. We had just been waiting for them to tell us if they wanted to trade the gates for the white fence or not. Everyone in the family was aware that we wanted that fence back and had offered to trade it for the gates, including my mother. My brother had been going back and forth on whether to trade or not (which is why we hadn't returned the gates) and he did not tell us until sometime this last month that he did not want to trade. He also told us at that time to take the white fence. But, we work 7 days a week and have been very busy with our business during the Fall and have just not gotten it done (our fault, I know).

    But, now that everything is in their name it has all changed. They actually signed the deed contract on August 7th but it didn't get filed with the recorder's office until October 30th. That's when we were informed that they wanted their gates back with no mention of the white fence. Actually, looking back, when my brother had told us we could take the white fence back was AFTER the deed contract had been signed - I just didn't realize that had been signed back in August until I went to the courthouse to look up the records.

    The problem is my family was the family that lived and worked on this family farm for many years and had a lot of our assets on this land (and still do have some portable gates on their and my sister's property too). We have been in the process of getting everything off of there but had not completed everything before my mom deeded the land to two of my siblings. I don't have a problem in the world with returning the gates they own. I just want to know if I can countersue for any possessions we have on their property. If I have to take it up with my Mom, then that's fine too. I know that sounds terrible, but she has totally alienated my family and my other brother since my dad died. She is being brainwashed by my brother, sister-in-law, and sister and there's nothing we can do about it (we've already been to a lawyer on that subject).

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