I may wrong on about 99% of my age and score guesses, but if there is one thing I know really well, it's Texas community property law. The OP's wife's share of income off the land, if any, would be community property, but the wife's undivided interest in the land itself is her separate property. However, if OP and wife are using community funds to improve the property, the OP might be entitled to an equitable right of reimbursement in the event of divorce. Unfortunately all that info. does nothing to help OP with the situation. As noted by other posters, these situations usually end with a sale. But, if this ranch is like most other Texas ranches, it operates well into the red. The OP should consider offering to lease the hunting rights. It would help offset the ranch's non-hunting expenses, maybe put a little money in the leasing owners pockets, and give OP some legitimate control over the hunting operations.

You already have 20% equity... buy em out.

40% if he goes in with the BIL.

That makes a note to purchase the remaining interests reasonably affordable. Not a bad way to acquire a starter ranch.

Maybe that will get some wheels turning sure know I would jump at it.

this is an example that could be used in relation to hunting....but my brothers family owns a piece of property where they run cattle. several people own a stake in it. they have a yearly cost of feed/fences/maintenance/etc....if you want to participate in the activity...then you have to participate in the cost. simple as that.

so take that scenario...and then on our own personal family place. its a smaller acreage that will not accommodate everyone simply filling tags on whatever they feel like. so we have a management plan that comes first and foremost. if the management plan says we will shoot a certain number of deer that year then that is all that gets shot. however many does, however many bucks. of the bucks...some are spikes, some are nice deer. we rotate who's turn it is to harvest a nice deer....so you might not get one but every couple years. does and culls are just divided by the number of folks interested in shooting them. hogs are completely open season.

its tough to manage when you got that many hands in the pot. but I think its pretty unreasonable for someone to think that they could not lift a finger or spend a dime all year...and then show up on opening morning and expect to take their pick.

we don't invite that many folks out...but if we do...its for hogs...or if you're inviting someone out for a deer...then its sorta on the understanding that you are giving that person the opportunity to hunt the deer that you yourself would have hunted. it doesn't in any way stretch or extend what was originally set for harvest.

This will have to settled between the siblings. They are most likely the heirs and one or two might even be the executors, he or she should call a meeting and they all discuss how the place is to be managed, with the executor having the last word and making the final decision.

As an in-law you have no vote, your wife has her vote, you can only influence her decision. Lot of things have to be considered, does the family want to keep the property in the family, if they do they need to settle this pretty quick. One option is those that want to hunt the property pay a lease fee to the estate, those that don't won't get to hunt. I wouldn't recommend this, all kinds of crap will happen. Dividing the property up is another option, survey and new deeds, with each sibling gets their part, if that happens the hunting will probably go to hell.

You can adopt me and ill give you $250 for a 140+...

You deserve what you tolerate

The wife inherited the property after the marriage. I think it belongs to both of them equally regardless.

Community funds - all funds in the marriage (regardless of depositor) are community.

Anyway.

Is it set up in a family trust? Greed can take over after people pass. Family members usually start thinking about cruises, new cars, bigger homes, etc. Then they sell the family ranch. I've seen it happen many times. The only way to protect the interest is to put it into a trust. We have one.

At least you have place to hunt...for now! Not everyone even has any/the golden in-laws that own or do" blah blah blah"....hope it works out to your satisfaction!

Bandera, perhaps we can just agree to disagree.

What is it you do for a living again?

Yessir!

Been through this EXACT deal, with four heirs not five.

One hiccup in the ownership, was that those four continued to lease it to the cattle rancher (much larger ranch in my example). Once they did that, the court held that they were equal partners in a business venture, that included the land.

That made it community property applicable. So if they split it before it's earning then the individuals have the ownership but once it is operated as a business once, it belonged to everyone.

One of those parties/heirs is on here if he wants to chime in. This was my brothers' exact legal specialty, and we've discussed it immensely, but then again I never went to law school... didn't have the genes, nor race or gender to go

Sometimes you don't know what you don't know...or in this case, who

Raw deal for the OP. I would hope my family could work it out and would hope my wife's could, but that is rarely the case. People get greedy and stupid sometimes.

[/quote]

The wife inherited the property after the marriage. I think it belongs to both of them equally regardless.

Community funds - all funds in the marriage (regardless of depositor) are community.

Anyway.[/quote]

NOPE....... Grosvenor is correct

Been in the exact same situation. Ended with one sister buying the others out. Also ended with 4 sisters no longer speaking to each other. In hindsight, the property should have been sold off immediately to a 3rd party and the family relations maintained. No deer is worth losing your family over. In the interim, remove your blinds and feeders. When you hunt, use a ground blind and dump corn along a road. See bigger bucks that way anyway. And whatever you do, don't say a word to anybody about any "rules" or regulations. Will go over like a lead balloon. Kill all you can while you can.

NOPE....... Grosvenor is correct [/quote]

I stand corrected.

Sorry, Grosvenor. It was worth the conversation anyhow.

Best of luck to the OP!

I like the idea of throwing it under MLD. Then you have to comply with the TPWD recommendations. This would be the most cost effective solution. Pitch it as habitat improvement and I bet it could be a fairly easy sell.

...Or if any of the other three non-contributing but hunting siblings are more greedy than horny (get it ) throw a lowball offer to buy their interest from them. Then they can only access with an invitation. Imagine that...only inviting the in-laws you like. That's priceless.

the remaining parent should have gifted out the land before he died and kept a life estate in the property. that way its out of his hands and everyone involved knows what's up and so on,,,,, plus no need to have the land go through probate.

just food for thought......

Tell them you want to buy it and everyone can still hunt it if they want.... then after they buy it tell them they can hunt but have to provide their own stands feeders and corn.

Sorry for the late reply, I'm a gunsmith and have been stupidly busy for the last several months.
I'm hoping the situation is going to work itself out as everyone realizes that we can't keep killing deer without a management plan. The BIL (my wife's sister's husband) and I are working to turn around past practices since we and our wives have an actual part ownership now. We are in it for the long haul and will hopefully be able to buy out two of the other siblings in the near future.
One rub is that the property is not really set up for deer hunting, as the father was a farmer and cleared all of the trees off, so we pull deer over through feeding and catch them crossing. There is actually only one tract that covers maybe 200 acres that is really huntable.
I've been voicing my opinion a lot more, and it seems like a lot of these people just thought those feeders, blinds, corn and protein all magically fell from the sky every year, so we will see what happens...