Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Minnesota
*affitdavitt for collection* please help? MINNESSOTA!!
Hi there, my father died on the family farm that is in a trust for him and his 3 other brother and sisters. Only he lived on the farm for 25+ years.
The family has allowed me to get some of his stuff off the farm except for one of his old tractors which they say are farm implements. This tractor belongs to him. This is not a real farm just a place with alot of land and a house. This tractor was an old junky farmall m with no engine. Me and my dad restored it to brand new. Its worth about 2,500. The family is inviting me to get a couple more things off the farm this weekend. I was going to get what they say i can get and at the last minute serve them with the affidavitt for collection under 20,000 then remove the tractor against there wishes. Could i be arested for ignoring them while removing the m. Im the only kid and nothing has been filed with the court for anything. Could someone please look into this for me. I dont want to be arrested. I have the affidavitt filled out the way its supose to be along with the original death certificate. I also plan to bring witnesses. The family is going to be there supervising me while they let me grab my dads stuff. I believe they just want to keep the tractor casue it nice. Thanks
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: *affitdavitt for collection* please help? MINNESSOTA!!
You can always be arrested if the officer thinks you are engaged in criminal activity. That said, this does not look like a trespassing situation; you have permission to enter the property. Therefore, I doubt an officer would arrest, particularly if you were to leave when asked, but it is impossible to guarantee that.
As far as removing the tractor without permission, they may accuse you of theft, which could be done either criminally or in a civil suit. I doubt that law enforcement would treat it as a crime, but it is impossible to say that with certainty. Law enforcement often does strange things with situations like this, and there are almost certainly many facts I do not know.
I have to say, this looks like a situation that could get very bad. Family feuds are often very nearly the worst sorts of disputes. Feelings get very badly hurt, and a great deal of money gets wasted. I have been through them a number of times with clients, and there is always a great deal of damage done to the family.
NOTE: Nothing in this e-mail should be construed as creating an attorney-client relationship.
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