Legal Question in Business Law in Washington

Re: Going nuts!

First, some things you cannot do. You cannot force your father by any means to prepare a will other than the way he wants to. You also cannot enforce a verbal contract with regard to land, so his promises cannot be enforced as such.

This situation is probably made more difficult by the fact that family is involved. Although your sister is running around saying untrue things about you, a defamation case might not be worth pursuing unless you can show a significant tangible loss that you suffered because of her behavior. A suit for abuse against your father would also be very difficult to follow through with legally, no matter how much his behavior has hurt you.

However, if you and your husband have been investing in the farm (whether financial investment, an investment of your time, or both) for five years in reliance on your father's representation that he was going to compensate you by leaving the farm, you and your husband may be able to recover the value of your time and money invested, or at least a percentage thereof.

Much depends on the details of the case, so I would urge to you spend an hour or two with an attorney reviewing the facts, to determine what recourse you may have. An attorney will help you sort out what might be legally available to you. Another important benefit of retaining an attorney would be that an attorney is not going to be as vulnerable to the emotional storm and stress that comes with having to resolve this kind of dispute with your family members. He or she will be able to insulate you from much of that.

Good luck!