property. At county records, dusty files described seventeen mostly wooded acres with a ruined farm building and two changes of ownership since Esteban. The last page startled her.
“What?”
She showed us the entry: MCR Holdings Trust, with Manuel C. Ruiz listed as trustee. Dad stared in disbelief.
“I don’t know anything about that.”
Granddad had formed the trust and named Dad successor trustee, but apparently nobody notified Dad after his death. A linked account had quietly paid minimal property taxes for forty years.
“How much is it worth?” Derek asked, and Inez gave an uncertain shrug.
“Depends on zoning, access, environmental restrictions, and what the county allows.”
Discover more
Find Divorce Help
Tour Properties
Plan Gardens
“Could be worthless?”
“Could be.”
Dad appeared almost relieved by that possibility. I laughed at him.
“You’re the only man I know who discovers land and hopes it has no value.”
“I already
