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47 ACTEC L.J. 187 (2021-2022)
To My Children in Equal Shares: The Flaw of Estate Planning When Property Is Devised to Beneficiaries as Tenants in Common

handle is hein.journals/acteclj47 and id is 195 raw text is: To My Children in Equal Shares: The Flaw of Estate Planning When Property Is Devised to Beneficiaries as Tenants in Common Camille M. Davidson* INTRODUCTION Mrs. Brenda, a widow, died at the age of 87. Mrs. Brenda and her husband had five children. She was preceded in death by her husband and two of her children. She was survived by three children. One de- ceased son, Johnny, had three legitimate children and one questionable child and the other deceased child had no children. Shortly after Mrs. Brenda's death a real estate investor approached the heirs, her children and alleged grandchildren. He offered nominal amounts of money to each of Mrs. Brenda's children, as well as the offspring of her deceased son. Two grandchildren' each accepted $2,500 for their share of their grandmother's home. Two children each accepted $7,500 for their share of their mother's home. Mrs. Brenda's home was completely paid for and was located in an area of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina where real estate values were rapidly increasing. Although there was work to be done on the home, it was worth well over $20,000, the total amount the investor paid to heirs to force the partition hearing. One of Mrs. Brenda's surviving children did not succumb to the real estate investor. She wanted to honor mom and dad's legacy. She wanted to keep the home in the family. She found herself as an interested party in a partition matter. Without money for an attorney and the inability to purchase the home, she was not successful. After legal fees and attorney fees were paid, she was left with very little money. The legacy that Mrs. Brenda thought she was leaving to her children was gone-for pennies on the dollar. Mrs. Brenda had a will. She executed it in the early 2000s. Everything was to go to her husband, then to my children in equal shares. This scheme of devising to each of her children as tenants in common resulted in what she was attempting to prevent-losing her home to someone outside of her family. Unfortunately, each descendant owned a fractional * Camille M. Davidson is the Dean and a Professor of Law at Southern Illinois University. She thanks SIU Law students Emily Mauer and Megan James for their work on this article. All rights reserved. 1 One of Johnny's children was not his legal child. He was born out of wedlock and had not been legitimized. Although the investor paid him, he was not entitled to a share. 187

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