In fact, she went further than R.C.'s father by assuring all farm property went solely to her son. R.C. makes another point that deserves more thought, however. We've all seen situations where heirs seem to show greed and selfishness fighting over their deceased parents' assets. If we look behind the scenes in both G.E.'s and R.C.'s situations, we see parents who, either through fear of generating conflict or plain uncertainty, didn't formally include their children in a discussion of their estate plans. This is a critical error.
Silence is usually the cause.
Even good people can misunderstand motives and be hurt by the result, and people who are hurt often react in ways that seem greedy or selfish. Yes, inheritance is a gift. We can distribute our estates as we wish, with no requirement that we do it equally. But failing to explain to our children the form our gift takes will almost guarantee conflict or resentment after we're gone. Then, in fact, we will have been unfair.