Land Access Question...Your Thoughts

[Lunker]

This question was posed to me recently by a relative of mine and I had no answer. So of course the next thing to do is turn to the good people at FM!

A parcel of property, previously private, has been turned over to the state due to death of the landowner and lack of a family/will. So now the state owns it, and it is up for sale. Since it is state owned, is it now "public"?

His situation is that he hunted this property for many years(with permission of the land owner) and now that the state has it up for sale, can he get one last hunt out of it or not before it is purchased?

I honestly have no idea.

Thanks

[Pooh]

call your local CO and see what he says. he gonna be the one writing the ticket if there is a problem

[fivebucks]

I am not an estate guru but I would bet that the estate still owns the land and whoever is the trustee of the estate could give permission. I would not think that the state owns the land, however they may be the trustee or executor. That probably muddled things up a bit more. The course of action would be to find the trustee and then you would find the answer.

[motley man]

BUY IT if possible, get hunting group together and buy it.

[Lunker]

fivebucks, I'll tell him to look into it. When he spoke to the listing agent, the agent told him the state owns it.

I don't think buying it is an option right now.

[Tom7227]

Something doesn't ring right. Just because you don't have a will doesn't mean the state gets your property.

I would contact the registrar of deeds in the County involved and ask who the owner is. If in fact it is the state of Minnesota then I would see if there was any restriction on the current title about access. If there is no such restriction then I would think it would be public and thus huntable. Of course I would have bail money with me if I did in fact go to hunt it and I would be using the cheapest weapon I own.

[Ufatz]

Perhaps there is confusion here. When you asked the real estate agent are you sure you heard him/her correctly and that you were in fact being told "....the ESTATE owns it."

Check again with the agent.

As pointed out above, the estate's trustee/administrator would have the authority to grant you permission to hunt the land.

Proceed with caution.

[titelines]

There are circumstances that, upon one's death, the state does take ownership of any/all assets. This is a perfect example of the importance of having an estate plan/will etc. If nothing else, the guy could've willed it to a friend, hunting organization, or designated it as a managed area etc. The possibilities are pretty endless, but you have to take the time to do it.

[lawdog]

There is almost no chance the state owns this just because there was no will. That is a long lived fairly tale!

Your friend needs to do some more checking with the County Recorder or Court Administration to see if any probate proceedings are happening. Then make contact with the personal representative of the estate to discuss permission.