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Under siege in Brazos Valley


dogbreath

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And there are definitely racist-y implications here.  Because of slavery and Jim Crow, blacks were excluded from "the system" and certainly felt like they were even if they were not.  "The system" here being doing the things that non-economically and -racially disadvantaged people do.

As an IP attorney, I encounter a lot of ordinary folks that aren't "prepared" to understand or deal with the "broader business world."  It is somewhat especially acute among my minority clients, but is in no way limited to them.  These are the ones likely to get taken by "inventhelp" or whatever that scam du jour may be.

And there are lots of studies indicating that blacks and other minorities are attracted to less conventional investments and transactions because of their feeling of exclusion from the regular system.  And they often get taken for a ride as a result.

So, this is one of the ways that slavery and Jim Crow continues to haunt.  And a great example of "systemic" or "institutional" racism.  No one really set out to make this system racist.  The system does assume some small sophistication and familiarity with the law and the means to use it, which is inherently in favor of property owners or moneyed interests.  But it's a little bit difficult to conjure a system that wouldn't be.  

I would even venture to guess that the founding fathers and their predecessors didn't really intend to favor moneyed interests either.  They assumed that those with property would "do the needful" with respect to legal formalities and the complete ignoramuses, the unwashed, would never own property and thus would never know or need to know what to do.  Hell, they were not far removed from feudalism, themselves and figured just providing for private ownership and free alienability of land was doing pretty good.

Edited by TwiceHorn
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I could see something similar happening to the land from my grandad's first family. Relatives scatted all over the place. Most of the original heirs are dead and their kids aren't interested enough to keep up with it. Matter of fact, two of the bastard grandkids are suing the rest for their share. And one of the things they ran into when trying to file was finding all the heirs. There is plenty of timber and a pipeline so I could see some asshole trying to steal it. And those chickenshits deserve it.

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24 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

And there are definitely racist-y implications here.  Because of slavery and Jim Crow, blacks were excluded from "the system" and certainly felt like they were even if they were not.  "The system" here being doing the things that non-economically and -racially disadvantaged people do.

As an IP attorney, I encounter a lot of ordinary folks that aren't "prepared" to understand or deal with the "broader business world."  It is somewhat especially acute among my minority clients, but is in no way limited to them.  These are the ones likely to get taken by "inventhelp" or whatever that scam du jour may be.

And there are lots of studies indicating that blacks and other minorities are attracted to less conventional investments and transactions because of their feeling of exclusion from the regular system.  And they often get taken for a ride as a result.

So, this is one of the ways that slavery and Jim Crow continues to haunt.  And a great example of "systemic" or "institutional" racism.  No one really set out to make this system racist.  The system does assume some small sophistication and familiarity with the law and the means to use it, which is inherently in favor of property owners or moneyed interests.  But it's a little bit difficult to conjure a system that wouldn't be.  

Also worth noting that you can jack up the title to just one residential lot and dwelling pretty damn quick in a small family in just a generation by failing to properly carry out an estate plan and probate.  

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Just now, Brothahorn said:

I could see something similar happening to the land from my grandad's first family. Relatives scatted all over the place. Most of the original heirs are dead and their kids aren't interested enough to keep up with it. Matter of fact, two of the bastard grandkids are suing the rest for their share. And one of the things they ran into when trying to file was finding all the heirs. There is plenty of timber and a pipeline so I could see some asshole trying to steal it. And those chickenshits deserve it.

Yeah, even if you try to "keep it in the family," there is a strong likelihood of it turning into a shit show, as noted above.  Someone is very likely to be wearing a very black hat and the white or grey hats are going to come out with nothing or very little.

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1 hour ago, vtaenz said:

It almost seems like every family with any bit of land should create a Trust right away and put the deed under the trust.

Doesn't have to be that complicated or expensive, but not a bad idea.  Ignoring the legal processes entirely is what got them in this mess.  Trusts have to have trustees and beneficiaries that change when the first one dies or becomes incapacitated.  That takes a bit of planning and legal work to accomplish, things that would probably have been ignored.

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7 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

Doesn't have to be that complicated or expensive, but not a bad idea.  Ignoring the legal processes entirely is what got them in this mess.  Trusts have to have trustees and beneficiaries that change when the first one dies or becomes incapacitated.  That takes a bit of planning and legal work to accomplish, things that would probably have been ignored.

True but could you not structure it with a board and then work from there? Granted, that could ultimately result in one part of the family controlling everything and fucking over another part of the family should the family grow in any capacity, but it would kind of keep things centrally controlled I would think.

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